Dave Bautista has brought to life a whole range of characters throughout his career, but Batman's enemy Bane is one role he doesn't think he could manage anymore.
At 54 years old the actor still has a long career ahead of him, and he's still bashing and crushing his way through the Marvel universe as Drax the Destroyer while juggling appearances in movies like Glass Onion.
He's stretching his legs even further with his next appearance in M. Night Shyamalan's horror-mystery Knock At The Cabin, but despite proving he's familiar with performances surrounded by mystery, violence and evil, Bautista doesn't want to take on the role of a supervillain.
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DC could soon be on the hunt for a new actor to play Bane after James Gunn took over the universe at Warner Bros., with Tom Hardy among those who have previously played the role.
With Henry Cavill's shock departure from Superman indicating a big overhaul of cast members in the DC universe, Bautista revealed he has previously had discussions with Gunn about the possibility of playing Bane.
The conversations took place before Gunn took over operations at DC, but Bautista believes the direction he's now planning to move in would eliminate him from the running.
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Speaking to Insider, the Guardians of the Galaxy star explained: "I have had conversations with James about that but I think the direction he's leaning in, completely rebooting that whole universe, he's starting from scratch and starting younger and fresher and I think you need to do that.
"I think for the DC Universe to be revived, you need to start from scratch, and I think you need to start with younger actors," Bautista continued. "You need to start to plan for the next 15 years, and I just don't think you can do that with me. And I understand that."
The actor made clear that it's not just Gunn's vision that would prevent him from playing Bane, as he added that he doesn't 'want to play a character that [he] can't bring justice to'.
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"I don't think at this point in my career that I can bring justice to Bane anymore," he explained. "I just don't know if I could handle the physical part, and I don't think I would have the longevity to plan ahead for films. So, I just don't know if I'd be that guy."
But while we might not see Bautista go up against a new Batman any time soon, we can at least look forward to seeing him destroy some things in Guardians of the Galaxy 3.
Topics: Dave Bautista, Film and TV, Celebrity, DC Comics
Emily Brown