John Cena has been cast in 'The Janson Directive'.

John Cena

John Cena

The 41-year-old star is set to play the lead role in the new movie, which is being executive produced by fellow wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson through Seven Bucks Productions, with Dwayne announcing the news on his Instagram account.

He explained: "I've got some great news. There's been a project that I've been working on for years now - myself and our production company, Seven Bucks Productions - we've partnered with Universal Studios to make a movie called 'The Janson Directive'.

"'The Janson Directive' is a novel written by Robert Ludlum. Robert is, of course, one of the greatest crime writers of all time. He wrote Jason Bourne, the character made famous by that handsome son of a b***h Matt Damon in the 'Bourne' movies.

"The cool news is this: I've found my star, and the star of 'The Janson Directive' is going to be John Cena. I've known John for years, he's so excited to play the role and I'm excited for him."

Dwayne and John have taken similar career paths, moving from the wrestling industry into Hollywood.

And Dwayne, 45 - who has become one of the industry's most bankable stars over recent years - has also delivered a tongue-in-cheek warning to his one-time wrestling rival.

He captioned his Instagram post: "Congrats man and I'm excited to go on this journey with you. Thank you for your commitment to the role and remember, as your producer if you screw up, I'm coming to set and droppin' the People's Elbow on ya. And you know first hand how devastating my elbow drops can be (sic)"