Dave Bautista is revealing that he turned down a role in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, despite initial interest to reteam with his Guardians of the Galaxy director.
In a new feature for "Entertainment Weekly" that featured first look images for Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, it's mentioned that Bautista turned down a part in The Suicide Squad so he could appear in the project. This tidbit is notable because Snyder actually offered Bautista a role in Army of the Dead right sway but the actor initially turned it down:
"I said I wasn't interested. I had this chip on my shoulder and was looking for juicy [dramatic roles]. Then I read the script and it was a lot deeper and had more layers than I thought. And also, to be quite frank, I wanted to work with Zack."
The article never mentions which role that Bautista may have been up for in The Suicide Squad so I guess fans will have to speculate on that one. Bautista is an interesting guy because, despite a persona that maybe seems perfect for no-brainer action roles, he has this strong desire to take on projects that really challenge him as an actor. He seems to reject the trajectory that most want to put him on and he would like to work with high-profile directors on significant projects. He'll be working with James Gunn again on the third Guardians of the Galaxy film and maybe that's why it was easy for him to turn down The Suicide Squad to work with Zack Snyder on Army of the Dead. Bautista also has the adaptation of Dune coming this year, which pairs him with one of the best directors in the business, Denis Villeneuve.
Army of the Dead has been in development for years and fans will finally get to see it all come to life when the film premieres on Netflix this summer. Described as a zombie heist movie, the film follows a group of mercenaries that plot a heist on a Las Vegas casino during a zombie outbreak. In addition to Bautista, the film also stars Ella Purnell, Ana de la Reguera, Garret Dillahunt, Raul Castillo, Omari Hardwick, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tig Notaro, and Matthias Schweighofer.
Do YOU think Bautista was smart to turn down The Suicide Squad for Army of the Dead?