Rumor: Could Dave Bautista be the next Bane?

At this point anyone who sees actor Dave Bautista as simply, "that former pro wrestler who plays Drax in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY," simply hasn't been paying attention. The man has truly dedicated himself to the craft, stating on more than one occasion how important it is to him to be taken as a serious actor. We've seen flashes of that talent in films like BLADE RUNNER 2049 where he played the quiet and empathetic replicant Sapper Morton. He also flexed his comedy muscles earlier this year in the criminally underrated STUBER.

Having said all that, Bautista also knows that his roles in genre films – action, horror, superhero – are the ones that most fans want to see and moreover, ones he wants to do. Although Bautista's been playing in the Marvel superhero sandbox since 2014, he also has ties to WB having starred in the aforementioned BLADE RUNNER 2049 and the upcoming DUNE film. Unless you live under a rock the size of Bautista himself, you know that Warner Bros controls DC properties. Well if this latest rumor is true, Bautista could soon be dipping his rather large toes into the universe that made Batman and Superman famous.

Speculation is running rampant that the fifty year old actor could soon be joining the DC ranks as none other than the Batman villain Bane. Fans have long touted the Virginian native as an ideal candidate for the role and Bautista himself fanned the flames yesterday by posting a rather cryptic tweet on Twitter:

Now before anyone declares the Bautista-as-Bane idea as holy writ, it's important to focus on the facts. All we know from this tweet is that Bautista met with WB and he's chasing a dream role. Even if the role is for Bane there's no way to know if it would be for a DC television related series, Matt Reeves' upcoming THE BATMAN, or director James Gunn's THE SUICIDE SQUAD, which is currently filming.

If Dave Bautista does in fact land the role of Bane he certainly has the physical aspect down pat. At 6 feet 6 inches he's close to the height of the actual villain and obviously the muscle tone is there. The comicbook version of Bane is also extremely intelligent and manipulative, a perfect counterpoint to Bruce Wayne's Batman and a big reason why the character was able to hunt down Bats and break his back. Depending on how well fleshed out the character is, Bane could be an excellent challenge for Bautista.

So what do you guys think? Does the idea of Dave Bautista playing Bane excite you? Do you think this whole situation is just smoke and mirrors? Let us know in the comments below!