Here's How Dave Bautista's Pitch to Play Bane Went

It's no secret that Dave Bautista at one point pursued the role of Bane, Batman's bulked-up [...]

It's no secret that Dave Bautista at one point pursued the role of Bane, Batman's bulked-up arch-nemesis from the comics -- but recently, Bautista revealed just a little bit about his pitch to take on the role. Besides being physically large and imposing figures, Bautista and Bane both have ties (albeit in very different ways) to the Suicide Squad. Of course, Bautista played Drax the Destroyer in a pair of Guardians of the Galaxy movies from The Suicide Squad writer/director James Gunn, while Bane was canonically a member of the antihero team in the comics, as well as being a key figure in the Secret Six, another villains-turned-heroes(ish) team.

It turns out his lobbying was remarkably straightforward, and he literally just kind of charged in and said he wanted the job -- which didn't exist, since Bane wasn't featured in any movies Warner had planned. "They were a little like 'whoa, we're not even casting Bane,'" Screen Rant reports Bautista saying. "I was like 'I don't care, I'm playing him.'"

The actor took to social media to confirm that version of events, saying, "I wasn't joking. But in all honesty they did have a good giggle and show me the exit....At least I gave it a shot. My life seems to be a continuing mission to find an alternative route to get to where I want to be. I'm good with that."

Bautista was at one point rumored to play a role in The Suicide Squad, but parted ways with the Gunn-directed DC film due to scheduling conflicts. During at least part of the film's production, he was shooting Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, a potential franchise-starter for Netflix.

In addition to Bautista, Army of the Dead is set to feature Ella Purnell (Sweetbitter, Kick-Ass 2), Omari Hardwick (Power, Kick-Ass), Theo Rossi (Luke Cage), Ana De La Reguera (Cowboys and Aliens, Narcos), Huma Qureshi (Viceroy's House, Gangs of Wasseypur), Hiroyuki Sanada (Avengers: Endgame, Westworld), Garret Dillahunt (Fear the Walking Dead, Deadwood), Raúl Castillo (Seven Seconds, Looking), Nora Arnezeder (Mozart in the Jungle, Origin), Matthias Schweighöfer (You Are Wanted, The Most Beautiful Day), Samantha Win (Arrow, Wonder Woman) and Rich Cetrone (300, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice).

"It is a full-blown, balls-to-the-wall zombie heist movie, so it's genre-on-genre in a great way," Snyder previously told Entertainment Weekly. "So you expect pure zombie mayhem, and you get that, 100 percent. But also you get these really amazing characters on a fantastic journey. It's going to surprise people that there's a lot of warmth and real emotion with these great characters."

Army of the Dead is expected to hit Netflix on May 21st.

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