John Cena & Kathy Bates Join Brian Cox & Jodie Turner-Smith In Political Thriller ‘The Independent’

Andreas Wiseman
·2 min read

Oscar winner Kathy Bates (Misery, American Horror Story) and former WWE star John Cena (F9: The Fast Saga) are joining Brian Cox (Succession) and Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim) in political thriller feature The Independent.

Set during “the final weeks of the most consequential presidential election in history,” the movie will follow an idealistic young journalist (Turner-Smith) who teams up with her idol (Cox) to uncover a conspiracy that places the fate of the election, and the country, in their hands. The Suicide Squad star Cena and Misery and Richard Jewell star Bates both play Presidential candidates.

More from Deadline

The Black List script is due to film in November of this year in NYC. Director is Amy Rice (By The People: The Election Of Barack Obama), who is currently wrapping documentary Broadway Rising. Pic is written by Evan Parter, who is currently writing the untitled John Dean movie with Chris Pine for Amazon.

Ryan Cunningham of Anonymous Content and Sam Bisbee of Park Pictures and Thea Dunlap are producing alongside Caddy Vanasirikul of The Exchange and Evan Parter.

Lance Acord and Jackie Kelman Bisbee of Park Pictures and Brian O’Shea and Nat McCormick of The Exchange are serving as executive producers. Sales firm The Exchange is financing and handling sales.

“We’re incredibly excited to partner with Kathy Bates and John Cena on The Independent. Kathy’s exceptional acting skills, paired with Cena’s global appeal and ability to transform on-screen, make them incredible additions to this film. We couldn’t be happier that they’ve signed on,” said O’Shea of The Exchange.

The Exchange’s line-up includes Kaley Cuoco’s Meet Cute and Morgan Freeman’s Muti.

Bates and Cena are represented by ICM Partners.

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Kid Cudi updates fans on broken foot

    In a video shared to X on Monday 22 April, Kid Cudi, born Scott Mescudi, stated that although the injury was a "major setback", he was feeling OK. "This is what happens when a 40-year-old man tries to prance around offstage like he's 26, like he used to do back in the day," he shared. "I learned a valuable lesson: No more prancing around, jumping off stages." The Pursuit of Happiness rapper also revealed his foot was "a little sore" and that he had experienced "a lot of pain" the day prior.

  • Average petrol prices above 150p/litre for first time since November

    Data collated by website Fuel Prices Online shows typical pump prices reached 150.1p per litre on Monday.

  • Watch: Jurrien Timber scores sensational goal just eight minutes into Arsenal comeback

    Jurrien Timber, Arsenal’s £39 million summer signing, scored a sensational long-range goal just eight minutes into his comeback from a long-term knee injury.

  • Swedish customs seize around 1.4 tons of cocaine in one of the country's largest-ever drug busts

    Swedish customs made one of the country's biggest-ever cocaine seizures after confiscating around 1.4 tons of the drug last week in a port near Stockholm, an official told Swedish television on Tuesday. “If it is as big as we think, it is one of the biggest seizures ever made,” Stefan Granath of Swedish customs told broadcaster SVT, adding they were still waiting for a precise figure of how much was found. The drug was discovered in a container in the Nynashamn port, south of Stockholm, on April 18, Granath said.

  • Mass arrests made as US campus protests over Gaza spread

    Protesters at NYU and Yale are arrested while Columbia cancels in-person classes for safety.

  • How do we decide which antidepressant is best for us?

    Voltaire’s famous aphorism of “doctors prescribing drugs of which they know little to patients of whom they know less” may seem unduly cynical but the sheer number of medicines available today (4,000) certainly poses a challenge. Which to choose between, for example, the 30 different antidepressants on offer, 25 anti-inflammatory drugs or 50 anti-hypertensives?

  • Lorain restaurant serving culinary education success to high school students

    Years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a local high school culinary program is getting back to business as usual.

  • Spencer Matthews shares marathon world record attempt after health battle

    The Made In Chelsea star told Lorraine he hopes to run 30 marathons on sand in 30 days and said he likes to push himself after battling alcohol abuse.

  • Stuart Attwell named in VAR team for Euro 2024 amid Forest controversy

    The news comes two days on from Attwell’s officiating being criticised by Forest after their loss at Everton.

  • Cable news coverage of Trump trial reflects a U.S. divided

    When Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's hush money trial began in a Manhattan courthouse on Monday, cable TV news coverage of the case was as divided as America itself. A Reuters review of 2-1/2 hours of daytime coverage showed the distinctly partisan approaches of the Fox News Channel and MSNBC News to the trial taking place in the midst of an election campaign pitting the former president against Democratic President Joe Biden. Fox News, which is the country's most watched cable television network and leans Republican, gave significantly more air time to other national news including protests on U.S. college campuses against the war in Gaza.

  • Spotify's monthly user numbers miss estimates on lower promotions

    Spotify on Tuesday reported quarterly monthly active users (MAU) of 615 million, missing its own estimates, as the Swedish music streaming company spent less on marketing activities to draw in more listeners. First-quarter MAUs rose 19%, but missed Spotify's own guidance and a median of analysts' forecasts of 618 million. Premium subscribers, who account for most of the company's revenue, rose by 14% to 239 million, in line with estimates, according to IBES data from LSEG.

  • UPDATE 1-UPS profit falls on high labor costs, weak small-package demand

    United Parcel Service reported a decline in first-quarter profit on Tuesday, as margins came under pressure from subdued demand for small-package delivery and higher costs tied to a new labor contract with the Teamsters union. Delivery companies such as UPS and FedEx have seen demand normalize following a boom during the pandemic, when home-bound consumers were forced to shop online. A new labor contract with the Teamsters union is also squeezing the Atlanta-based company's profit.

  • Spencer Matthews: Marathon challenge will push me after struggle with alcohol

    He plans to run 30 marathons in 30 days on sand.

  • Cooper: PM doesn't even believe in Rwanda Bill

    Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has said the prime minister doesn't believe in the 'extortionate' Rwanda Bill that finally passed Parliament after months of back and forth between MPs and peers.

  • Biden and Trump face enthusiasm test in battleground Pennsylvania

    U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Donald Trump go before voters on Tuesday's primaries in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, one of the last tests of voter enthusiasm ahead of November's general election. Pennsylvania, with 19 Electoral College votes toward the 270 needed to win, is a top prize and a toss-up in the 2024 presidential election featuring a Biden-Trump rematch. In 2020, Biden won Pennsylvania by less than 1.5%, or roughly 80,000 votes.

  • Buy now, pay later lender Affirm pushes into elective medical procedures

    Fintech lender Affirm has started quietly offering "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) loans for elective medical procedures, in a major push beyond its core e-commerce market, the company told Reuters. Over the past year, Affirm has more than doubled the number of elective medical merchants on its network, reaching around 130 at of the end of 2023. The San Francisco-based company is hoping to tap growing consumer demand for financing for cosmetic treatments, dental services, medical devices and veterinary procedures.

  • UPS profit falls on high labor costs, weak small-package demand

    Delivery companies such as UPS and FedEx have seen demand normalize following a boom during the pandemic, when home-bound consumers were forced to shop online. A new labor contract with the Teamsters union is also squeezing the Atlanta-based company's profit.

  • London's best coffee shops, from Prufrock to Bar Italia

    Forget Pret, say no to Nero and wish goodbye to Gail’s — this is where to find the very best coffee in London

  • Ukraine tries charm offensive as conscription flags

    STORY: Far from the trenches in Ukraine, recruiters armed with information packs offer patriotic volunteers an opportunity to join the war. As the country's efforts to conscript enough men to fight Russia are obstructed by public skepticism – defense officials are embarking on a serious charm offensive to recruit a citizens' army fit to fight the invasion. Oleksiy Bezhevets, is a ministry adviser who is overseeing the drive:"Nations form themselves in fire. Now there's fire, and the nation is forming. This mobilization is one of the elements, and one of the instruments that help a nation to form itself."This softer call-up is being conducted on job-search sites and outreach centers, as well as billboards and social media, and offers a wartime novelty: an element of choice.Recruits can choose their units and roles that suit their skills as well as how long they will serve. This recruit says she wants to serve as a paramedic. The drive is also taking place online, in a glossy campaign by the 93rd MechaniZed Brigade. Kyiv is desperate to replenish its depleted forces, which are now vastly outnumbered and outgunned by Russia – as the war drags on into its third grinding year. The initial patriotic flood of volunteers who flocked to the army following the invasion in February 2022 has dried up. But the government understands the conscription drive has created its own difficulties including thousands evading the draft and some fleeing abroad rather than risking the trenches. Bezhevets says thirteen of the new recruitment centers have opened since February, and the government plans to expand the number to 30 by the middle of the year.In March, Kyiv's top general said the military would need to mobilize fewer people than the initial target of up to 500,000, in part because of volunteers.

  • Local girl does well, does good, and could use a hand herself right now | Opinion

    It took courage for the former “Law & Order” writer to let Melinda Henneberger print the truth that just as she once saved the life of an ill woman, now she is an ill woman whose life needs saving.