Edited by ITMDave Bautista, who rose to critical acclaim thanks to his role in Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, is getting ready to jump ship to DC Studios now that his longtime pal and collaborator James Gunn is at the helm. And if a cryptic photo recently posted to Instagram is anything to go by, he might’ve just revealed the character he’ll be playing.
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Plenty of changes are currently taking place behind the curtain at Warner Bros. now that The Suicide Squad (2021) director James Gunn and Peter Safran are in charge of DC Studios’ film, TV, and animation departments.
Since news of this leadership switch-up broke in 2022, Zack Synder’s ill-fated DCEU has officially come to an end with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023), marking the finale of an otherwise underwhelming superhero universe.
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With DC Studios having, essentially, a fresh slate, Gunn has made clear his intent to recast new actors for “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters,” which will kick off in 2024 with the upcoming Creatures Commandos show, before flying into theaters with the highly-anticipated Superman: Legacy (2025).
From day one, Gunn, who spearheaded Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, has promised that we’ll see many actors from the MCU pop up in his newly-rebooted DCU, including Frank Grillo, Pom Klementieff, Maria Bakalova, Nathan Fillion, and of course, former WWE star Dave Bautista.
After making his Marvel debut as Drax the Destroyer in the first Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) installment, it became clear that Bautista had some serious talent outside of the ring, delivering a hilarious and emotional performance that came full circle in Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 (2023). And unsurprisingly, he seems to be following Gunn into the DCU.
Taking to Instagram over the weekend, Bautista shared a rendering of Batman’s nemesis, Bane, created by artist BossLogic. The image shows Bane with his back turned to the camera, with his iconic breathing tubes hanging down his spine.
Check out the now-deleted post (via @TheDailyKrypto on X) below:
Dave Bautista posting @Bosslogic Bane on his story ?! Could just mean he’s a bane fan but I want to seeeeee him as bane so badly!
Dave Bautista posting @Bosslogic Bane on his story 👀?! Could just mean he’s a bane fan but I want to seeeeee him as bane so badly! pic.twitter.com/gl7jvVvSP7
— The Daily Kryptonian (@TheDailyKrypto) February 18, 2024
This cryptic social media post comes on the heels of a poll conducted by James Gunn on Threads, in which he asked fans to send their character suggestions for who Bautista should play in the DCU. Among the most popular answers were Hugo Strange, Darkseid, Mr. Freeze, Atrocitus, and, of course, Bane.
Bautista has spoken about the prospect of playing a new take on Bane several times in the past, even admitting that he actually took his campaign to be cast as the iconic supervillain directly to Warner Bros. But despite telling interviewers on numerous occasions that he “really wants to play” Bane, it doesn’t seem too likely.
In the past, Tom Hardly famously played Bane in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) opposite Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne, meaning Bautista would certainly be in good company if he’s selected for the role.
More recently, however, the former wrestler cast doubt on his prospects as “The Man Who Broke The Bat,” telling Insider that he doesn’t think he can “bring justice to Bane anymore” at this point in his career as Gunn looks to reboot the DCU with, presumably, a younger version of the character.
And considering that the only confirmed Bat-Man project on the horizon is The Brave and the Bold (TBA), there aren’t exactly a lot of options for Bautista’s Bane, as the film will supposedly follow a more bloodthirsty variant of Robin during his “murderous” tween years.
For now, only time will tell if Dave Bautista gets his dream casting as “Chapter One: Gods and Monsters” begins to roll out at DC and Warner Bros., or if he’ll just have to make his peace with playing a different character in the rebooted DCU.
Which role do you think Dave Bautista should take on in James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DCU? Let us know in the comments below!