Dave Bautista is done playing Drax the Destroyer, but that doesn't mean he's done with superhero movies. Pro wrestling's most successful superstar turned dramatic actor isn't against doing more superhero films, and he's even let Marvel boss Kevin Feige know he's interested in coming back. He just might want to do something a little different next time... like playing a villain. Maybe someone should call James Gunn. Dave Bautista as Darkseid? I could see it.
Bautista's interest in returning to the genre came up when the Guardians of the Galaxy star was talking to Gizmodo during the press tour for Dune: Part Two.
"When I said that I was done, I was really just done with my journey as Drax,” Bautista said. “I still have a relationship with Marvel. I’ve seen Kevin Feige again, Lou [D’Esposito] as recently as two weeks ago. And they know that I would be up for a role. I love the universe — the superhero universe, I love it. I’m a fan. So Marvel or DC, if they call, I would answer the phone. And if the role makes sense, I’d be all over it.”
“I just would like the opportunity to do a bigger role, a different role,” Bautista clarified. “Maybe a deeper role. I’d love to have the opportunity to play, like, an ominous villain in the superhero universe. … I’m not done with it. But my journey with Drax is over.”
Bautista previously admitted he was "relieved" when his time as Drax was over following Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. "I'm so grateful for Drax. I love him," Bautista said at the time. "But there's a relief [that it's over]. It wasn't all pleasant. 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."
That's probably why he's so keen to continue working with Villeneuve. Dune: Part Two marks Bautista's third outing with the director, following his small but notable part in Blade Runner 2049 and his role as Rabban in Dune: Part One.
“I’ve never had a director until Denis, since Denis, say to me that you’re a very strong actor,” Bautista told Gizmodo. “And he said this to me on the first film. I was holding back because I was self-conscious [and] I was. I was very unsure of myself. And he came to me. He said, ‘I feel like you’re holding back. You’re a very strong actor, my friend. Just follow your instincts.’ And so I started belting it out, and I started finding this character. He not only loved it so much, but he was so supportive of my performance that he wanted to capture other people’s reactions to my performance. And so when you’re getting that kind of support, that was an experience I’ve never had before or since, with a director of that caliber. So it means everything. It’s validation.”
"Any big, tough guy could play this big, menacing, ominous brute. But when you add the layers to him, especially in that moment, that's a performer's dream. That's my dream.
"And that's what I love: that I have that confidence from Denis where he knows that I could pull off that moment, because it just validates me. I've always said that I want to be an actor, I want to be a movie star. And it's moments like that where I get to say, I told you, you know? I get to prove my point."
Villeneueve seems unlikely to direct a superhero film any time soon - he still wants to adapt Dune: Messiah before stepping away from the series, after all - but it seems like Bautista could definitely take what he learned from Rabban to a more complex, menacing villain for either DC or Marvel.
As for Villeneuve's latest, we said in our review that "Dune: Part Two is an arresting, transportive middle entry in Denis Villeneuve’s tricky sci-fi saga."
Dune: Part Two finished production in December 20222 and releases in theaters on March 1st.
Will Borger is an IGN freelancer. You can find him on Twitter @bywillborger
