When Disney fired director and screenwriter James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy 3 for decade-old offensive jokes. The entire cast has shown their support for Gunn but none more than Dave Bautista, who plays Drax. The actor threatened to quit during an interview with Shortlist
“Where I’m at right now is that if [Marvel] don’t use that script, then I’m going to ask them to release me from my contract, cut me out or recast me,” the actor opined. “I’d be doing James a disservice if I didn’t.”
Gunn is still out as director but his script will be used according his brother Sean Gunn, who plays Kraglin and serves as a stand-in for the CG character Rocket.
“I don’t really know yet what’s going on with Guardians 3,” he told Tulsa World. “I know that Disney still wants to make the movie. I know that they have every intention of using the script that my brother wrote. Obviously, that was a very unfortunate situation for everybody, most of all him, but I am also somebody who had been preparing to spend half a year making that movie and now that’s up in the air.”
Marvel DC crossover
Master of magnates Disney CEO Bob Iger says he hasn’t “second-guessed their decision” despite the overwhelming show of support, which included back channel talks with Marvel Studios. But Warner Bros was eager to bring Gunn over to the DC Universe to write and possibly direct Suicide Squad 2.
The decision got the blessing of David Ayer, who wrote and directed the first film.
“I think it’s an incredibly brave and smart move by the studio. James is the right man for the job!” Ayer tweeted.
Suicide Squad 2 cast
The next film will reportedly not be a sequel. Therefore it could feature a whole new cast, which would make sense. As the name suggests, the Suicide Squad frequently updates its lineup. The members who don’t die earn eventually their freedom or escape custody like Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) at the end of the first film.
Bautista has already expressed his interest in teaming up with Gunn on the project.
“Where do I sign up!” he tweeted.
Unlikely suspects
The prodigious actor would be great as any one of countless bruisers to have the dubious distinction of belonging to the Suicide Squad but some seem less likely. Killer Croc A.K.A. Waylon Jones and the previous actor (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) who played him are black so that’s a no-go. King Shark has a similar M.O. as Croc but his physical appearance necessitates CG and having Bautista do voice over work seems such a waste. Likewise dimwitted villains like Solomon Grundy and Blockbuster would be disappointing as they’re not very talkative. Bautista would be fantastic as Shazam’s evil counterpart Black Adam but Dwayne Johnson has already been cast in that role for an upcoming solo movie. Amanda Waller briefly recruited Superman’s archenemy General Zod but he immediately rebelled, besides such a powerhouse would make the other members superfluous.
The Superman villain Parasite is one of best possibilities. The character is normally sickly looking with a constant hunger that makes him slightly more sympathetic than Killer Croc or King Shark. Parasite could feed enough to stay in his powered up state or they could switch out actors a la Lou Ferrigno in Hulk TV show. Parasite has a lot of potential not just in the limitless powers he can absorb but also character development.
Most of the speculation is that Bautista will play the Batman villain Bane. A musclebound villain empowered by a super steroid known as Venom. However there’s more to him that just his muscles. Not unlike Drax, Bane is driven to prove he’s the best, so much so that he literally broke Batman. Bautista’s physique would make for a much more intimidating than Tom Hardy’s underwhelming portrayal hidden beneath layers of clothes to say nothing of the ridiculous mask.