John Cena Reportedly to Play Lead Role in 'Transformers' Spinoff 'Bumblebee'

John Cena's footprint in Hollywood continues to grow, with the Hollywood Reporter's Rebecca Ford reporting Monday the WWE star has secured a lead role in Bumblebee, a spinoff of the Transformers film franchise.

The movie is set to be released on Dec. 21, 2018.

The news comes as Cena is seemingly winding his full-time wrestling career down. He took time off following WrestleMania 33 to film The Pact, which is also set to be released in 2018.

In an interview with Complex's Khris Davenport, the 16-time world champion said he "[knows] that my days are numbered" in a WWE ring.

"I just turned 40 in April and we have so many young and talented performers, I don't know how many years I have left," he said. "So in the time I have left, I'm gonna do what I can to dedicate to this company I just want to be able to do it the most time that I possibly can."

At the very least, the filming for Bumblebee will eat into a significant chunk of Cena's schedule this year. According to Ford, production began Monday in California.

Cena and Shinsuke Nakamura are wrestling Tuesday night on SmackDown Live to determine the No. 1 contender for WWE champion Jinder Mahal at SummerSlam on Aug. 20. The result of that match and Cena's possible involvement at SummerSlam could go a long way toward revealing the extent of his involvement with WWE in the months ahead.