John Cena in talks to play Duke Nukem in movie

John Cena is in talks to play video game character Duke Nukem in a movie.

The professional wrestler and actor has broken into Hollywood in recent years, nabbing roles in films such as Legendary, Trainwreck and Daddy's Home.

While John's mostly had supporting roles in movies, he's now in negotiations with executives at Paramount Pictures to headline a feature about the character of Duke, the protagonist of the Duke Nukem series of video games first developed by Apogee Software.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a director for the project is yet to come on board, and a writer will only be tapped once discussions with John progress further.

Platinum Dunes, the U.S. production company formed in 2001 by filmmakers Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, will produce the movie. The project was previously overseen by Dimension Films, and after rights to make a movie lapsed, Paramount nabbed it from Gearbox Software, which now owns the rights and intellectual property of the games.

Duke first appeared in a video game in 1991, and over the course of further instalments, has developed into a confident wise-cracker who is often depicted wearing sunglasses, holding a gun and chomping on a cigar.

Should John sign on to portray the character, his wrestling background will be useful as well, as Duke is conveyed as a hyper-masculine figure, whose missions generally involve killing aliens that have invaded Earth.

John, 40, has just finished a promotional tour for animated film Ferdinand, in which he voiced the main character.

He will next be seen onscreen as Agent Burns in Transformers spin-off Bumblebee, also starring Hailee Steinfeld, as well as in comedy Blockers, which is due to hit cinemas from April (18).