It’s Batman v. Superman when it comes to Dave Bautista fan-casting.
After Bautista confirmed he is not in the running to play “Batman” character Bane, the “Knock at the Cabin” star has another villain in mind: Lex Luthor of “Superman” fame.
“I have to clear it up because there was some misunderstanding that James Gunn had turned me down for the part or didn’t want me for the part, and that’s not at all even close to the truth,” Bautista told IndieWire at the red carpet “Knock at the Cabin” premiere. “We actually talked about Bane and my hopes for playing Bane long before he even took over DC Studios. But someone mentioned something on Instagram I saw tonight, and they said, ‘Just hear me out, but Dave Bautista as Lex Luthor’ and I thought that was really interesting.”
Bautista added, “So I don’t know man, I may make a call to James and see if they got anybody in mind, but that is more appealing to me at this point of my life and my career than playing Bane. You know, I just turned 54 last week and playing Bane, I think they need to start with someone younger and someone fresher and someone who could physically, you know, take on that part. With confidence, I couldn’t do it right now, and I would never do an injustice to a character like that, that means so much to the DC fans or the superhero fans in general and myself. So I just wouldn’t do it.”
DC Studios head Gunn is currently writing a “Young Superman” script that will focus on a young Clark Kent first arriving in Metropolis. Former “Superman” actor Henry Cavill will not be reprising the role, with the part instead going to a younger star. However, IndieWire understands that DC co-heads Gunn and Peter Safran met with Cavill to discuss future opportunities within the franchise.
And aside from superhero movies, “Guardians of the Galaxy” actor Bautista has his sights set on another genre: romantic comedies.
“I want to do a rom-com,” Bautista said. “I want to do a rom-com, but it’s hard. For some reason, I haven’t been able to get people to look at me in that light yet, but hopefully that will come my way soon. But that’s one of the bigger pieces of the puzzle that I haven’t gotten yet.”
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
