Dave Bautista said no to DC’s Peacemaker — James Gunn spells out why
James Gunn says he wrote Peacemaker for Dave Bautista — but the Guardians of the Galaxy star had to pass, and Gunn’s revealed what stopped it.
You know how sometimes the casting for a hit series seems so spot-on, you can't imagine anyone else in the part? Well, apparently it nearly happened very differently for Peacemaker. It turns out James Gunn originally had someone completely different in mind for the helmeted antihero—a certain ex-wrestler he's worked with before.
On the official DC podcast, The Suicide Squad: Is It Canon?, Gunn revealed: 'So originally I wrote the role of Peacemaker for Dave Bautista. Dave at the same time was offered to do Army of the Dead, as well as that little spy girl movie, and he was offered both of those movies. He would have had to say no to both of those movies and say yes to us. I think we could only afford to pay him, you know, 1/3 of what he was going to get paid.'
If you've somehow forgotten, John Cena ended up playing Peacemaker from his debut in The Suicide Squad film through to the spinoff show. But when Gunn was writing the script, he imagined none other than Dave Bautista in the lead. Scheduling and, let's be honest, pay packets ultimately put the brakes on that plan. Bautista was juggling an offer for Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead and 'that little spy girl movie' (for the record: My Spy), and obviously, turning both down for a much smaller paycheque wasn't exactly tempting, no matter how loyal you are to your director friends.
During a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, Bautista brushed off concerns about career risks after publicly supporting Gunn post-Disney firing: 'I wasn’t so concerned about my career at that point. I figured if my career was over, I could always fall back on professional wrestling.'
Bautista and Gunn: The Backstory
For context, the relationship between Gunn and Bautista goes back to Guardians of the Galaxy, where Bautista's Drax became an unexpectedly comedic highlight of the whole trilogy. Gunn directed every one of those films plus the Christmas special, so the pair aren't exactly strangers. When Disney briefly gave Gunn the boot over old tweets, Bautista was one of the most vocal supporters, going so far as to join the rest of the cast in urging Disney to bring him back. His agents weren't wildly enthusiastic about the idea, but Bautista genuinely didn't seem fussed about the possible consequences. Apparently, when you've already got a wrestling career in the bank, Hollywood drama is less intimidating.
- James Gunn wrote Peacemaker with Dave Bautista in mind
- Bautista couldn't take the role due to conflicting film offers and much higher pay elsewhere
- John Cena was ultimately cast and made the part his own
- Bautista and Gunn remain friends, with a long working history
Bautista still hasn't had his moment in the DCU, though given his loyalty to Gunn, it's hard to imagine it's completely off the table in future.