Dave Bautista made a name for himself as a hard-hitting performer who would ruthlessly maul his opponents. Dubbed The Animal during his time in the WWE, he would go on to achieve major success inside the ring and in Hollywood.
The former WWE World Champion’s success in Hollywood started with the Drax character in Guardians of the Galaxy. After the release of the third rendition of Guardians of the Galaxy, it has become common knowledge that The Animal is done with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
A look at @DaveBautista‘s #WWEHOF-worthy career stats. #BatistaWeek pic.twitter.com/9DXGco4O0D
— WWE (@WWE) May 9, 2022
One character that is more akin to Bautista’s WWE persona is the Batman comics supervillain Bane. The Animal has expressed his desire to play the character for a long time and wants to establish himself as a force in the DC Cinematic Universe. In 2021, Batista was vocal on Twitter about playing the character who broke Batman’s back and had ever approached Warner Bros. to cast him. However, that ship seems to have sailed.
During a recent interview with The Insider, Bautista revealed that he has had conversations with Guardians director James Gunn, who is now the Co-CEO of the DCU, about playing the character, which was last brought to the big screen by Tom Hardy in 2012. However, Batista now feels that he cannot do justice to the character since Gunn will possibly be starting from scratch and will require younger stars to be cast in major roles.
I accept! https://t.co/ts6DnBvj8W
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) June 12, 2019
“I have had conversations with James about that but I think the direction he’s leaning in, completely rebooting that whole universe, he’s starting from scratch and starting younger and fresher and I think you need to do that,” Batista said.
The former WWE Superstar added that Gunn will probably require to plan for the next 15 years, and that won’t be possible with Dave Bautista.
“I think for the DC Universe to be revived, you need to start from scratch, and I think you need to start with younger actors. You need to start to plan for the next 15 years, and I just don’t think you can do that with me. And I understand that. And also, I have to say that I appreciate that because I don’t want to play a character that I can’t bring justice to it. I don’t think at this point in my career that I can bring justice to Bane anymore.”
Dave Bautista Calls MCU Exit a ‘Relief’: Drax Is a ‘Silly Performance’ and ‘I Want More Dramatic’ Roles https://t.co/LQnyQeL3z8 pic.twitter.com/S1dpwLYci5
— IndieWire (@IndieWire) January 4, 2023
After finishing up his role as Drax, Batista was also of the opinion that he felt a bit of “relief” not having to play the role any longer. It is understood that the main reason behind his parting ways with the MCU was the rigorous makeup sessions that he underwent to become Drax.
Dave Bautista’s Hollywood success after quitting WWE
The former world champion bid adieu to WWE for the first time in 2010 after an illustrious career. He then forayed into MMA, where he has only had one fight—a TKO victory against Vince Lucero. Since his WWE exit, Dave Bautista has landed a reasonable role as the villainous Brass Body in The Man with the Iron Fists. His first real break in the industry came in 2014 when he landed the character of Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Following another return to the ring in 2014 and reforming The Evolution Stable alongside Triple H and Randy Orton, Bautista once again left the promotion in 2016. He made another appearance in 2018, with his last match for the company coming in 2019 against Triple H at WrestleMania 35.
Things got VERY physical in the brutal #NoHoldsBarred showdown between @TripleH and @DaveBautista at #WrestleMania! pic.twitter.com/9EmPf61dI8
— WWE (@WWE) April 9, 2019
During his return to the ring and his subsequent retirement, The Animal has featured in numerous MCU films, including Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. He also appeared in two other volumes of Guardians.
Apart from this, Dave Bautista has starred in Blade Runner 2049, a reboot of Kickboxer, Army of the Dead, with his latest non-MCU film being Knock at the Cabin. He is vocal about not wanting to play meaningless characters and will only partake in movies where he can do justice to the characters. In that regard, it remains to be seen what is in store for The Animal.