Dave Bautista says James Gunn is starting the DC universe "from scratch"

With the DC Universe falling apart one controversy at a time, there’s never been a better opening for James Gunn and fellow DC boss Peter Safran to shake things up. Everyone is waiting to see what Gunn does with the reins. Fans are proposing theories; congressmen are demanding answers; actors are pitching themselves on big characters. Unfortunately, Dave Bautista is one of the multiple actors who failed to get his DC pitch off the ground, but he has no hard feelings toward his Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 director.

“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,” Bautista tells Insider in a new interview. “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. 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.”

One can be forgiven for any confusion about DC rebooting from “scratch,” because even the previous regime’s slate hasn’t fully been scratched. We’ve still got a Shazam! movie on the horizon and the infamous Flash film later this year (and Jason Momoa says he’ll “always be Aquaman”). Then there’s Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe, which is so far separate from the greater DCU and spawning its own spin-offs. Plus, Joker: Folie À Deux, which is its own thing, and a slew of unconnected animated projects. The reboot is not exactly as encompassing as these comments would make it seem.

All this to say, there’s surely room for Bautista to play Bane somewhere in the multiverse. But, he says, “I have to say that I appreciate that because I don’t want to play a character that I can’t bring justice to it. I don’t think at this point in my career that I can bring justice to Bane anymore.” (Bautista last spoke about pitching himself as Bane in 2021.) “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.”

For his part, Gunn has debunked some rumors, but he hasn’t actually ruled anyone out. “We have hundreds of roles to cast. As I’ve always done, some will be brand new faces, some will be actors I’ve worked with before, & some will be actors you know who I’ve never worked with,” he wrote on Twitter. “What matters most is the actor fits the role & they’re easy to work with.”