With James Gunn Helming DCU, Dave Bautista Can Become Bane – Finally
On April 20, 2021, Dave Bautista tweeted a picture of himself in front of a Warner Bros. logo, mysteriously saying that he "wasn't joking" but at least he gave it a shot. It later came out that he went to the head of DC and essentially demanded the role of Bane – a role they weren't currently casting.
Flash forward to November 2022, and James Gunn is currently co-head of DC Studios. Gunn directed all three Guardians of the Galaxy movies (the third of which will come in 2023), starring Dave Bautista as Drax in the ensemble cast.
Bane was previously played by Tom Hardy in a pretty grounded role for 2012's The Dark Knight. Director Christopher Nolan was going for a more realistic take on Batman, but in a universe with aliens, gods, and superpowers galore, Gunn and the DCU are no longer limited in that sense. If Bane were to appear in future Batman movies led by Gunn, it would likely be more comic-accurate and far more outlandish – which is just what Bautista and the fans want.
Bautista has been commonly fan-cast as the Batman villain before and since his plea to WB execs. Standing at six-foot-four and shredded from head to toe, he's already got the look of the steroid-riddled bad guy, even before adding CGI.
Now the only thing standing in the way of Bautista's dream role is the agreement of his friend, Gunn.
Gunn recently created hit movie The Suicide Squad for DC before his ascension to head of the studio. Gunn was able to bring over several MCU actors – including Idris Elba, Michael Rooker, Taika Waititi, and a few lower-level stars – to appear and star in the 2021 film. Proving he already has good relations with several of them, it's likely we'll see more former MCU actors appearing in DC movies – especially given his new higher-ranked position.
One question that arises in this fan-casted fantasy – which Batman would Bautista face?
Matt Reeves dropped The Batman in March 2022 to massively high ratings, but the Robert Pattison Batman exists outside of the shared DCU universe and looks to stay that way in upcoming sequels. Reeves' Batman was more akin to Nolan's: Far more grounded and realistic.
If a comic-accurate Bane were to appear in Gunn's DC, it would likely be against Ben Affleck 's Batman – rumored to have signed up for more caped crusading after previously seeming done with the role. Affleck's Batman battled Superman head-to-head before going to war against aliens, so a more fantastical villain would suit that version better.