Over the past several years, Dave Bautista has truly come into his own as a movie star, having scored roles in a number of high-profile films, ranging from Blade Runner 2049 to Spectre. And of course, superhero fans know him as Drax the Destroyer from the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, and he’s become a fan favorite as a result. Despite this success with Drax, Bautista has also been hoping to play Batman villain Bane. The actor has been incredibly enthusiastic about the idea, and he’s now explained further why he’d like to take on the role.
Bane is one of the most iconic characters in the history of comics and, as such, he’s already been depicted in multiple mediums. This includes film, as he’s already been seen in two live-action movies, one of which was Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. Dave Bautista recently told Collider that the has plenty of respect for what Tom Hardy did in that film but that he still has his reasons for wanting to play the part himself:
There are certain characters I’ve latched on to over the past 10, 20 years, and Bane was one of them. No discredit to Tom Hardy’s version of Bane, I love that performance, I loved that film. I’d just love a crack at it. I think I could bring an interesting twist to it and I think I could do the character justice. Not only in performance, but also in physicality. I’d love that role where I’d have to go back up to 320 pounds just to play this character, like that it would happen. I could...play Bane in a way that’s not only menacing and ominous but also freakishly intelligent. Bane would be the type of character that’s so menacing and so terrifying and so intelligent, he would hardly ever raise his voice.
Dave Bautista seems to like the complexities of the character and would love to blend the intelligence and the physicality of the character into something unique. It’s also interesting that Bautista wants to play Bane in a more understated way. While Tom Hardy’s performance was both intelligent and physical, it was a bit over the top at times, so Bautista could theoretically try something a bit different.
As Dave Bautista’s career progresses, it’s becoming clearer that the actor is searching for different kinds of roles. This was certainly apparent when he was recently reported to be joining Rian Johnson’s Knives Out sequel.
The actor even appears set on leaving his role of Drax behind following Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. While he has expressed criticism of the way the character has been handled, he seems to have enjoyed his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and wants the character to live on. But Guardians director James Gunn believes only Bautista can play the role of the fearless and hilarious warrior.
There’s no telling whether Dave Bautista will actually get to play Bane at some point in the future but, with the moves he’s making, it’s certainly not impossible. One thing we can say for sure is that the actor will continue to challenge himself with different kinds of roles that will keep audiences on their toes.
Dave Bautista’s latest film, Army of the Dead, is now playing in theaters and is set to hit Netflix on May 21.
