Although we still don’t know what Rise of the TMNT will look like, we are finding out a lot about the voice actors who will be playing various characters on the show. A few months ago, Nickelodeon revealed the voices behind the turtles themselves, their partner April O’Neil and Splinter. In a recent interview, Rob Paulsen confirmed that he and Maurice LaMarche would also be taking on the role of two villains in the series. As of today, we now know of at least one additional actor who will be lending his voice to the cartoon: John Cena.
For those who don’t know, John Cena made a name for himself as a wrestler in the WWE. Although he still works for the WWE, he has also become quite a big name in Hollywood. His most recent work can be found in Ferdinand, an animated film which is currently in theaters. Considering that he plays the title character of this film, it’s clear that he has experience as a voice actor. With that in mind, it’s fair to assume that he’ll be more than capable of performing this new role in Rise of the TMNT.
John Cena will be playing a brand new villain by the name of Baron Draxum, an alchemist warrior mutant who wants to see all of humanity turn into mutants. The premise for this character is certainly interesting, calling on similar themes we have seen from other TMNT villains in the past. To be honest, the motivation of this baddie indicates that there will be at least a little depth in the story of this new TMNT series. Say what you will about Cena’s involvement with the show, but the character of Baron Draxum actually sounds very interesting.
Cena’s character will appear in the very first episode of the cartoon, and he will apparently be a recurring character throughout Rise of the TMNT. One has to wonder where the Shredder is during all of this, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see what happens. For now, all we know for sure is that John Cena will be lending his voice to a brand new villain for the turtles to fight against.