John Cena and Jackie Chan are joining forces on the big screen. According to Deadline, the actors will co-star in an upcoming thriller tentatively titled Project X, directed by Need for Speed and Act of Valor filmmaker Scott Waugh.
The film, previously titled Ex-Baghdad, was once billed as Chan’s first movie project with fellow action star Sylvester Stallone. Late last month, rumors began circulating that Cena was in talks to replace Sly.
The movie focuses on a Chinese-operated oil refinery that is attacked by terrorists in the Middle East. Chan plays a private security contractor tasked with rescuing a group of oil workers. Once he discovers the terrorists’ plot to steal the valuable commodity, Chan’s character teams up with an American ex-Marine—played by Cena—to thwart the plan.
Project X will be produced by Chan, Joe Tam, Esmond Ren and Hans Canosa. Arash Amel (Grace of Monaco) wrote the screenplay.
News of Cena’s upcoming role arrives about a month after it was announced that he would replace Dwayne Johnson in Universal Studios’ The Janson Directive.
Cena will also star in the upcoming Transformers spinoff Bumblbee, which is set to hit U.S. theaters on Dec. 21.
