Taylor Swift fans think she's connected to John Cena’s new film. What he told us
John Cena has seen the rumors that Taylor Swift wrote the book that is said to have inspired his new film, “Argylle.” They’re not true, he says, but he’s “grateful” that Swifties are showing so much interest in the movie.
For those who are not familiar with the rumors (and who may have missed our story explaining them), a recap: “Argylle” the movie, opening Feb. 2, stars Bryce Dallas Howard as a popular novelist named Elly Conway who is pulled into a real-life, high-stakes spy mission that mirrors the plots of her books.
As it happens, there’s also a book called “Argylle,” which its publisher, Penguin Random House, says inspired the action flick, and is written by an “Elly Conway.”
The name "Elly Conway" is reportedly a pseudonym — hence the quotation marks — and very little is known about the author beyond the verified Elly Conway Instagram page.
In the comments on the Instagram page, fans have listed various reasons they believe the book was written by Swift — including that the page's first post is dated Dec. 13, 2022, which was the pop star's 33rd birthday. There’s also the hard-to-miss detail of Howard’s character toting a backpack with her beloved cat peering through the bag’s window, not unlike Swift’s cat in the trailer for her 2020 documentary, “Miss Americana.”
The director of the “Argylle” film, Matthew Vaughn, debunked the “Taylor Swift is Elly Conway” theory in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, and Cena did the same while speaking with TODAY.com.
“I can’t think of a better way for people to get to know ‘Argylle’ — a movie where the tagline is, ‘The greater the spy, the bigger the lie’ — than with some misdirection, some spy-type deception. And I think it’s a perfect fit for this movie — the questions, the plot twists, the turns. I got to debunk the rumor, but I’m grateful for Taylor and her fans to be so engaged, and it really fits in with our theme.”
Cena is part of an A-list cast that, aside from Howard, also includes Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara, Samuel L. Jackson, Ariana DeBose, Dua Lipa and more. He plays Wyatt, the partner of Argylle, the secret agent in Elly’s novels (Cavill’s character).
Cena had been eager to work with Vaughn, whose credits include the “Kingsman” films, so he jumped at the chance to appear in “Argylle.”
“I actually chased him down. I knew he was putting together another project, and I’m so moved by his work. And we had no relationship at the time,” the wrestler-turned-actor explains. “But fortunately, through making the most of some of the opportunities I’ve had, I was able to try to get connected with him and express how much enthusiasm I wanted to work with him. And he agreed that, like, ‘Hey, I’d love to work with you, I kind of put this thing in order. I have this little small bit that might be something later on.’ I said, ‘I’ll stop you at the “might.” I just want a chance to work with you.’”
As Cena hinted at, the potential for expanding the “Argylle” universe into a franchise exists, as Vaughn has done with the “Kingsman” series.
“Matthew Vaughn always has a plan, and he’ll tell you himself first. He doesn’t just build out a movie experience opening credits to post-credits,” he says. “He always thinks in terms of taking the audience on a ride. But he’s also the first to tell you, ‘Never put the cart before the horse.’ So there’s never a moment where he’s not thinking about something, and there’s never an offering that he comes out with as a standalone piece. But he also knows that you got to get everybody interested in the first one if you want to do another one.”
Cena filmed scenes not only with Cavill, but also with Dua Lipa (his recent “Barbie” co-star), an experience he describes as “extremely intimidating.”
“Those are two very successful, amazing folks. Henry’s got such a presence about him. He’s got such a gravity. He looks like a super spy, like a superstar. He carries himself well. And I always like trying to be not the smartest person in the room, and being able to work across from him allowed me to learn to become a better actor.”
Cena is looking forward for audiences to see “Argylle,” with all the interest that’s been stirring online for the film.
“Thank you, Swifties,” he jokes.
“Argylle” opens Feb. 2 and is distributed by Universal Pictures, owned by TODAY.com’s parent company, NBCUniversal.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
