Former WWE Champion and Guardians of the Galaxy actor Batista (real name Dave Bautista) broke the news on Tuesday that he would officially be joining the Gears of War franchise as a playable character in the latest installment, Gears 5.
Videos by ComicBook.com
UpUpDownDown, the gaming YouTube channel run by WWE Superstar Xavier Woods, uploaded a special behind-the-scenes look at the announcement trailer for Batista’s involvement, as well as a closer look at how he can be used in the game.
The clip shows Batista donning a special suit of Gears armour, made to resemble Marcus Fenix’s look.
Marketing director Guy Welch and The Coalition studio head Rod Fergusson were both interviewed in the video, with the latter kicking things off by explaining how this came to be.
“When you want to work with people, you want to work with people who want to be apart of the franchise,” Fergusson said. “So when Dave pops on your social feed saying, ‘I want to be Marcus Fenix’ you’ve got to pay attention to that.”
Welch then pointed out that there was a massive outcry from fans to include “The Animal” in the franchise as well.
“The fact that Dave sort of says, ‘It’s a role I’m born to play as Marcus Fenix,’ and then all the fans are sort of saying, ‘Are you listening to this? We want this, we want this, we want this!’ I wish I had control in casting the movie, but what I can control is who’s in the game,” Fergusson added.
Fergusson stated in Xbox Wire‘s news post on Tuesday that Batista’s involvement stemmed from his desire to play Fenix in the upcoming Gears of War film adaptation.
“Adding Batista to Gears 5, we started with the fantasy of ‘Batista as Marcus,’ putting Batista into Marcus’ armor, and starting with Marcus’ script. Then we added elements of ‘The Animal’ Batista into his voice performance and onto his look by adding his signature Hollywood shades to his character,” he said. “Batista was great in the booth and I can’t wait for Gears and Batista fans alike to stomp some Swarm as The Animal.”
Gears 5 will be released for Xbox One and Windows 10 PC worldwide on Sept. 10. Fans will unlock Batista as a playable character in multiplayer if they play the game from Sept. 15-Oct. 28.
