Variety; Dave Bautista Spoke to James Gunn About Playing Bane in New DC Universe, and It’s Not Going to Happen: ‘You Need Younger Actors’

Story from Variety:

Dave Bautista’s pursuit to play Bane is over. The actor revealed in April 2021 at JusticeCon that he met with Warner Bros. to demand he play the Batman villain in an upcoming movie. Bautista said at the time, “I’m not kidding. They were a little like, ‘Woah, we’re not even casting Bane.’ I was like ‘I don’t care, I’m playing him.’” Now that Bautista’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn is in charge of DC Studios along with Peter Safran, some fans have thought the actor’s goal of playing Bane might get fulfilled. That won’t be the case, Bautista confirmed in a new interview with Insider.

“I have had conversations with James about that,” Bautista said, “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. 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.

Dave Bautista Explains His Shocking ‘Knock at the Cabin’ Scene and His Pitch for Netflix’s ‘Gears of War’ Movie Bautista added, “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. I just don’t know if I could handle the physical part, and I don’t think I would have the longevity to plan ahead for films. So, I just don’t know if I’d be that guy.”

Bane was last brought to the big screen by Tom Hardy in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises.” Whether or not the villain will be included in Gunn and Safran’s overhauled DC Universe remains to be seen. Gunn has already confirmed he’s writing a new Superman movie centered around a younger iteration of the character, meaning Henry Cavill is out of the role. The new DC Universe also does not include Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman 3” or Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam character.

Gunn and Bautista have “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” set for release in May. The Marvel tentpole will mark the end of their tenures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Bautista said recently he was relieved to be saying goodbye to his “Guardians” character, Drax the Destroyer.

“It wasn’t all pleasant,” Bautista told GQ magazine. “It was hard playing that role. The makeup process was beating me down. And I just don’t know if I want Drax to be my legacy — it’s a silly performance, and I want to do more dramatic stuff.”