Director James Gunn continues to bring his superhero-based stories to the big screen as his reenvisioned version of The Suicide Squad (2021) prepares to challenge the status quo of the DC Extended Universe. In preparation for the film's premiere, Gunn joined The Suicide Squad stars Margot Robbie and John Cena on Jimmy Kimmel Live! break down the highlights of filming the movie.
Guest host Anthony Anderson sat down with Gunn, Robbie, and Cena to dig into the details behind the scenes. When asked about the most difficult scenes to shoot, Gunn turned to Cena first. "What was the toughest thing I had you do?" he asked Cena, to which Cena simply replied, "eat empanadas." The actor then provided further context to answer. "It was this elaborate thing where I had to take an empanada out of a package and eat it. And it was really me doing it, it wasn't a stunt person." The director confirmed that Cena ended up eating 36 empanadas while filming the specific scene.
Cena previously spoke about the empanadas at CCXP Worlds in 2020 and explained that it took over 30 takes to capture the scene for the final cut. "There was a day where we shot on a rooftop where we're all eating," Cena said during the event. "I had to eat an empanada and I took it upon myself to try to eat the entire empanada in a seamless take, thinking that it's gonna look great." The actor added that if he'd eaten another empanada, he would have vomited. "But then people are going to see the movie and nobody's going to care, so please -- remember the empanadas!"
Cena's character, Christopher "Peacemaker" Smith, will make his first appearance in the DCEU during The Suicide Squad and is set to be the centerpiece of his own HBO Max series. Gunn and Cena are to produce the Peacemaker series. Peacemaker will explore the character's backstory outside of The Suicide Squad and already has Gunn hopeful for a second season. The Suicide Squad opens in theaters and streams on HBO Max on August 6, 2021.