Dave Bautista may be known for his work with Marvel, but he had dreams of playing either Bane or Lex Luthor for DC.
As it seems with so many pro wrestlers, Dave Bautista — who went by Batista in the ring — also had aspirations for the big screen. But not too many have landed such high-profile jobs as he has, having been cast as Drax the Destroyer in the MCU. But it wasn’t always Marvel that Bautista wanted to be associated with, once envisioning himself as a key villain to both Batman and Superman.
Dave Bautista was in his mid-20s when Bane was first introduced in his namesake DC comic. Early on – and well before he entered the ring for WWE – Bautista was drawn to the hulking, bulking persona that made Bane one of the baddest dudes to ever grace the pages of DC. “For forever, it was Bane. When I was younger, I wanted to play Bane; it was like a dream role for me. And I got to a point in my career where I just felt like I was just too old to play Bane. I think the physicality of it, at this point in my career and my life, I just wouldn’t be able to do the character justice.” These are similar to the sentiments Bautista shared last year, when he said that he has aged out of playing Bane, especially as the future of the Batman series moves forward.
Outside of Bane, Bautista also got lured into the idea of portraying Lex Luthor on the big screen. But now that Nicholas Hoult has landed that role for James Gunn for next year’s Superman, that keeps Bautista far from hopeful about ever joining the DCU. “I saw somewhere online that someone posted something of me playing Lex Luthor; an older Lex Luthor. I kind of became obsessed with that idea. Obviously, they moved on from that idea, so at this point, I’m struggling to find my place in the DC universe. But I’d really be up for anything.”
Considering the relationship between Dave Bautista and James Gunn (who helmed the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy before jumping brands), one could see Bautista still getting nudged into the world of DC. Gunn even asked social media followers who they thought he should play. And while many did say Bane (it’s such an obvious choice, isn’t it?), other names that came up included Hugo Strange and Mongul.
Bautista could likely handle Bane, but can you envision him as a modern day Lex Luthor? Do you think he’ll ever join the DCU?