Hidden Strike - Everything You Need To Know

Years ago, the action film genre was supposed to receive one of the most explosive tag teams as John Cena and Jackie Chan were once announced to star in a movie together. Equipped with a big budget and entirely filmed in China, the movie, then deemed "Project X," promised to deliver a winning combo of thrilling action and buddy-cop comedy that seemed a perfect fit for its leading men. 

Cena and Chan have proven themselves as action stars with stellar comedic timing. Chan is a martial arts film legend who has had significant breakout success with Western audiences thanks to movies like the "Rush Hour" series. And even before he was portraying Peacemaker or Dom Toretto's brother Jakob in the "Fast & Furious" franchise, Cena was entertaining live crowds as a 16-time world champion in WWE.

"Project X" had the makings of a dream collaboration, but then everything took a bizarre turn, as it suddenly disappeared without mention of a release date. Cena and Chan continued work on other films, while "Project X" appeared ready to become another piece of lost media that no one would get the chance to see. However, it turns out that "Project X" is alive and well but going under a different name now. Titled "Hidden Strike," the upcoming movie is finally coming out through XYZ Films. With that said, here's everything you need to know about "Hidden Strike."

It's still currently unknown when "Hidden Strike" will be released. But with XYZ Films officially revealing a poster and trailer (more on that later), it's likely that "Hidden Strike" will hit audiences sooner than later. In any case, "Hidden Strike" has endured quite an arduous journey even to release at all. At one point, the upcoming project was titled "Snafu," and that's got to serve as the cruelest coincidental movie name considering the obstacles that kept it in limbo despite technically being ready to debut for quite some time. John Cena initially announced on Twitter that filming had wrapped up on the project in 2018.

Some challenges that almost prevented us from ever seeing this Cena and Jackie Chan project included the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down theaters in both the U.S. and Chinese markets in 2020, and changing social attitudes in China about films featuring Chinese and American stars. After that, Cena potentially made matters worse for the release of "Hidden Strike," when he referred to Taiwan as a country instead of part of China roughly during the international release of "F9."

According to XYZ Films' synopsis, "Hidden Strike" focuses on two-ex soldiers who work together to escort civilians to safety by traveling along Baghdad's infamous six-lane road, the Highway of Death. The current plot details don't deviate too far from what Jackie Chan revealed while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in 2018. In addition to saving the innocent, an oil heist may also be at the center of things, thanks to the aims of the film's true antagonists. And perhaps, Cena and Chan's characters don't start on the same team at the beginning.

"In the film, both characters start off as quite normal guys, both retired military and not superheroes," Chan told THR. "At first, I think we're opponents — I think he's the bad guy, and he thinks I'm the bad guy. But then we realize that we're on the same side and go after the real enemy." Chan's details certainly follow a familiar movie team-up formula, which should exceptionally fit the overall vibe of "Hidden Strike." Besides, the prospect of witnessing Chan briefly square off against Cena before the two knock around other adversaries seems too good to pass up.

"Hidden Strike" will star Jackie Chan as the character Luo Feng and John Cena as Chris Van Horne. The film marks the first time the two have ever worked together in a movie. And for Cena, the opportunity to star alongside Chan initially hooked him into wanting to work on "Hidden Strike." Cena once told Collider, "Usually I say I have to read a project to be riveted by it. That is one name where if it's like, 'Hey, Jackie wants to do this,' I'm sold. It's that effective. He's this barrel of f****ng wisdom, and he is trying to give it away, and it's awesome. He's just awesome to be around."

"Hidden Strike" will also feature Danish actor Pilou Asbæk, who fans may remember as Euron Greyjoy in HBO's "Game of Thrones," as well as Batou in the live-action "Ghost in the Shell" film. Asbæk will play a character named Owen Paddock in "Hidden Strike." Zhenwei Wang, Amadeus Serafini, Li Ma and Rachael Holoway round out the rest of the cast of "Hidden Strike."

Setting an action-comedy film like "Hidden Strike" along some stretches of highway suggests that we're probably in store for some high-octane vehicle thrills and explosions. And if that's the case, it's no wonder why the movie has Scott Waugh sitting in the director's chair. Waugh is known for directing "Need For Speed," the 2014 film based on the hit videogame series that starred Aaron Paul. Later this year, Waugh will have another worthy action-film credit to his name. He also directed the upcoming "The Expendables 4," which is scheduled to come out on September 22, 2023.

With "Hidden Strike," Waugh remarked to The Hollywood Reporter how fortunate it was to have such physical stars in John Cena and Jackie Chan. Waugh told THR, "When you get actors who are truly physically talented, you can design action to really use this — it's a dream." Between Waugh's statement and his legacy as a stuntman, "Hidden Strike" should contain some incredible stunts on and off the road.

"Hidden Strike" may have finally shed its once mythic status thanks to an official trailer from XYZ Films. Released on May 30, 2023, the trailer gives us a first glimpse into a project that's existed for several years now and immediately establishes what we can expect. Opening with a few details about the setting, "Hidden Strike" takes place sometime in the future with oil at the heart of a major conflict. 

It all reminds us a bit of "Mad Max," and the sea of vacant cars we see lost to the desert sands only reinforces that feeling. After the first of numerous explosions occur, we then get a shot of our two heroes who can stop the conflict. Jackie Chan and John Cena's characters are shown sitting in a truck, but as Cena's character grapples with his seatbelt, it's clear that "Hidden Strike" will be heavy on the laughs.

The comedic hijinks continue in another scene where Cena's character humorously gives nicknames to a few other folks and another haphazard moment later with a lost grenade pin. But don't worry. There's still plenty of action. For instance, the trailer shows a few driving scenes of a stylish oil heist in motion. And honestly, along with the gunplay and fisticuffs, the trailer for the "Hidden Strike" trailer could almost be mistaken for another "Fast & Furious" movie, especially with its concluding scene. The trailer ends with a semi-truck flipped upside-down and on course to crash into another one in glorious slow motion.