Dave Bautista wants to break the Batman.
The Guardians of the Galaxy star may be busy with Marvel but recently threw his hat out to play Batman foe, Bane, in any DCEU film.
Barring that, the former pro wrestler has another unique DC character in mind to try out.
Bautista as Bane?
Formerly WWE champion Batista, the wrestler has made a terrific transition into movies, including playing Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy.
He’s kept it up with roles in the James Bond film Spectre and the upcoming Zack Snyder zombie heist movie Army of the Dead and Dune.
While speaking at Justice Con, Bautista was asked what DC character he would want to play and his answer was immediate.
“It would be Bane, all day long. I made no secret about this. I wanna play Bane so bad. I want to play Bane so bad that I went to Warner Brothers, had an appointment with them, had an appointment with DC, walked in the door, and said, ‘I wanna play Bane!’ I’m not kidding,” he said.
“They were a little like, ‘Whoa! Whoa. We’re not even casting Bane.’ I’m like, I don’t care! I’m playing him!’ They were like… ‘Well…’ But it’d be that.”
It turns out, Zack Snyder himself agreed in his own video.
“We’ve really just gotta figure out how to get Dave Bautista to be Bane,” Snyder said. “Let’s just all accept the fact that he’s gotta be Bane, and there’s no two ways about it!”
Who is Bane?
Debuting in 1992, Bane is most famous as the man who broke Batman.
Born in a vicious South American prison, Bane fought his way to survival and then took over the place. He was aided by Venom, a powerful drug that enhanced his strength, turning him into a massively muscled figure.
While strong, Bane was also a brilliant strategist. That served him well when he decided to travel to Gotham City and target Batman.
In the epic “Knightfall” storyline, Bane staged a breakout of Arkham Asylum to force Batman to spend weeks fighting scores of his enemies.
With Batman worn down, Bane attacked, beating Batman down and literally breaking his back across his knee.
With Bruce Wayne incapacitated, Jean-Paul Valley became a new armored Batman to defeat Bane. Despite that, Bane would constantly return to battle the Dark Knight and others.
Recently, Bane made his most shocking move by not only taking over Gotham but killing faithful butler Alfred. While defeated, his scars, both physical and emotional, remain on Batman.
Bane in live-action
Obviously, Bautista wouldn’t be the first man to play Bane on film.
Jeep Swenson played Bane in 1997’s Batman & Robin. This Bane was little more than a mindless thug used as the muscle for Poison Ivy and was easily defeated by Batman.
Much better was 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises with Tom Hardy as Bane. Closer to the comics version, this Bane staged a terrific plan that left Batman beaten and giving him control over Gotham.
While he was defeated in the end, he still had an impressive outing.
The final season of Fox’s Gotham series had Shane West playing Eduardo Dorrance, Jim Gordon’s old army buddy who was badly injured in an attack.
He was then warped to become a new Bane before being arrested.
Bautista as Lobo?
While the idea of a new Bane in the DCEU is intriguing, there do not appear to be any plans for him. However, Bautista does have a backup character for him to try out.
“Otherwise, I would really take a look at Lobo. I’d really be interested in what somebody can do with Lobo. I’d be all over that.”
Created by Keith Giffen in 1983, Lobo was intended to be a parody of the “grim and gritty” heroes of the time. Instead, he ended up becoming massively popular as just that sort of wild antihero.
An intergalactic bounty hunter, Lobo is the last survivor of his Czarnian race…because he killed all the rest.
Completely psychotic and loving a good brawl, Lobo is virtually impossible to destroy as he can regenerate his entire body from just one drop of blood.
Despite his brutal behavior and ruthlessness, Lobo has an odd code of honor as his word is his bond, and he never quits a job until it’s done. He also has shown begrudging friendship to some heroes and respects Superman as one of the few able to stand up to him.
The character is a fan favorite played by Emmett J. Scanlan on the Krypton series and often worked better as an irritating pest than a true villain.
Either role could easily work for Bautista as Bane is a powerhouse while Lobo is almost like a wilder version of Drax. With the actor eager to play either part, it may be a matter of time before this MCU star makes his way into the DCEU.