James Gunn Asks DC Fans What Dave Bautista’s DCU Role Should Be

James Gunn is the current co-head of DC Studios and is hard a work building a whole new DC Universe franchise – but he made plenty of history over the last decade working with Dave Bautista on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. In casting (Former WWE Wrestling star) Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Gunn changed his life in a way the actor/athlete will never forget. 

In fact, when ComicBook.com recently spoke to Dave Bautista, he admitted that while he hasn’t yet talked to James Gunn about joining the DCU franchise, his bond with the filmmaker automatically keeps that door propped open: 

“I would love to work with James again, whether it’s DC Universe or not. I just love James Gunn. He’s an incredible director and we have a camaraderie that’s priceless,” he added. “So to work with him again ? I mean I’d do it for free. But, we just haven’t had the conversations. He’s on top of DC now. He’s doing his thing. I’m trying to grind along in my processing. But, I’m always open-minded too and I’ve expressed that to him.”

Well, Bautista’s kind words eventually found their way back to James Gunn, and he seemed to appreciate it – because now Gunn is doing something we rarely see him do: asking fans for their opinion on a casting. 

  “Love @davebautista,” Gunn wrote in a post. “Who would you like to see Dave play in the DCU?”

Who Should Dave Bautista Play In The DCU? 

After the initial announcement that James Gunn would be heading up DC Studios with Peter Safran, fans began speculating that Gunn would be casting from the circle of actors he repeatedly works with – including Bautista. A lot of DC fans wanted Gunn to surprise a lot of people and cast Bautista as Lex Luthor in the Superman reboot film Superman: Legacy; however, that role ultimately went to X-Men movies star Nicholas Hoult. 

That said, the playing field for Dave Bautista DCU roles is still wide open. Some roles would obviously hew close to Bautista’s size and stature – like DC villain Darkseid or his son, the New Gods warriror Orion; a Bautista version of Batman nemesis Bane has also been a fan-casting favorite for years. 

There are characters with the kind of body transformation Bautista did with Drax – Batman Universe characters like Killer Croc, Solomon Grundy, or Superman villain Parasite. Green Lantern powerhouse Kilowog is another common suggestion – but then again, Bautista may be tired of spending so many hours in makeup chairs. 

Gunn could also choose to use Bautista in a much more supportive or bit role – such as taxi driver/Superman Stan Bibbo Bibbowski or Gotham cop Harvey Bullock; a technical role is also on the table – like being a motion-capture/voice actor for a CGI character like Etrigan The Demon 

Who would YOU like to see Dave Bautista play in the DCU? Let us know in the comments!