Up until this week, the only actor who was confirmed to appear in Knives Out 2 was Daniel Craig, as you can’t have a Knives Out movie without detective Benoit Blanc investigating whatever crime has been committed. But now the Knives Out 2 cast is coming together, with Dave Bautista being the first new actor announced. This will mark Bautista’s second time working with Craig, as they previously co-starred in Spectre, the 24th James Bond movie.
We’re still presumably a long way off from learning how Dave Bautista specifically fits into the Knives Out 2 picture, but while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, he shared his excitement for getting to work with Daniel Craig again, especially since unlike in Spectre, the whodunit sequel won’t involve any damage to Craig’s knee or Bautista’s nose... at least, as far as we know. In the actor’s words:
Yes, I am excited to be working with Daniel again. And I’m excited that it will be in a much, much less stressful environment because being on a Bond film is just hard. It’s just stressful. It’s just long days. Logistically, it’s a nightmare. You’re just moving from country to country to country. It’s just a long and slow process. I think Spectre shot for almost a year. My role wasn’t extensive, but I was on the film for eight months. So it’s just a long, long process.
Dave Bautista appeared in Spectre as Mr. Hinx, the Spectre organization’s top assassin, so naturally that meant he and James Bond would collide as the movie progressed. But even though his role in the movie was near-silent, the Spectre filmmaking process was nonetheless exhausting for Bautista, both with how long it lasted and how physically intensive the role was. Spectre followed a little over a year after Bautista’s acting career got a major boost from playing Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, a role he’s reprised three times since then and will return to in Thor: Love and Thunder and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
As fas as Knives Out 2 goes, Dave Bautista is looking forward to it being a calmer affair with Daniel Craig, specifically noting that it’ll be nice to watch the actor, who’s bowing out as James Bond later this year in No Time to Die, perform a different kind of character. As Bautista put it:
But I think [Knives Out 2] is just a much more lighthearted film, and the environment that we’re shooting in is going to be beautiful, warm and sunny. And I like when Daniel breaks out of the James Bond character because he’s such a brilliant actor. It’s not a curse, but most people see him only as James Bond. So for me, watching him as a performer, it’s refreshing to see him do something else, especially an interesting character like this. So anyway, every time I’ve run into Daniel, it’s always been a good experience, and I’m looking forward to reuniting with him and actually having some dialogue on-screen with him. (Laughs)
For those confused about Dave Bautista’s weather comment, Knives Out 2 will shoot this summer in Greece, so I can’t blame Bautista for being excited to go there. He’ll be in good company, as in addition to Daniel Craig, the sequel also stars Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe and Kathryn Hahn. Participating in Knives Out 2 will also keep Bautista’s relationship going with Netflix; he’ll soon be seen playing Scott Ward in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, and the streaming service bought the rights to both Knives Out 2 and Knives Out 3 for upwards of $450 million, with Craig and writer/director Rian Johnson reportedly scoring over $100 million each.
While we await more Knives Out 2 casting updates and other news pertaining to the sequel, Dave Bautista fans can look forward to Army of the Dead dropping on Netflix next Friday, May 21, and its limited theatrical run kicked off today. Find out what else the platform is releasing later this month with our detailed Netflix May 2021 guide.
