Dave Bautista opens up about still not having joined James Gunn’s DC Universe. 2025 marked a big win for the DCU’s Chapter 1: “Gods and Monsters” slate, following the successful run of the new Superman movie with David Corenswet, as well as the return of John Cena’s Peacemaker TV show on HBO Max.

The DCU timeline has just gotten started, though, as there are more movies and TV shows in the works at DC Studios. While many projects have featured some of Gunn’s previous collaborators, one of them is waiting to get the call from the former Marvel Cinematic Universe director.

ScreenRant’s own Joe Deckelmeier recently interviewed Bautista for his new movie Afterburn, where DC was also brought up, following the reveal that the MCU veteran was almost cast as Peacemaker for 2021’s The Suicide Squad. When the star was asked if he has had any talks with Gunn about playing a different character in his franchise, he shared the following response:

ScreenRant: You guys have collaborated on a couple films together, but another collaboration partner of yours, Dave, is James Gunn. And I just recently read an article that he said that originally the role of Peacemaker was written for you. Have you talked to James about a DCU character, and please tell me that character’s Wildcat?

Dave Bautista: (Laughs) I haven’t. You know, I check back with them all the time to see, because I want to be in that world. And I don’t want to say I’m disappointed, but I was really just, you know, I was hoping a year or so ago that I would’ve gotten the call from James saying, ‘Hey man, we got something for you.’

But I just keep hearing kind of through the pipeline that they’re thinking about me for something, but I don’t know what it is. And I haven’t heard directly from either James or Peter. But I really want to be in that room, you know, I was hoping to go over there and do something with them, but I haven’t heard anything. And I’m not getting younger.

The 56-year-old star worked with the DC Studios co-CEO in the MCU as part of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, where he starred as Drax the Destroyer throughout the whole trilogy. He also reprised the role in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, as well as in the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special for Disney+.

Given that DC Studios is still in the early days with their new continuity, there is still time to get the Afterburn star in Gunn’s superhero franchise. Even though former MCU collaborators have joined the franchise, there are still some who haven’t, even though Gunn has said that he has roles in mind for them.

When ScreenRant caught up with Zoe Saldana about the DCU in June 2025, following his comments about having a part for her, the Gamora actress had a similar answer as Bautista did. As Gunn has made it clear that he won’t rush any projects, it could be that he actually has roles for them, but hasn’t gotten said film finalized yet before making the offer to them.

After hearing his comments, his thoughts are perfectly understandable, especially as he reflects on not getting any younger, which in turn can affect what roles he can take on down the line. With the upcoming DCU movies that are already filmed, there are still many that haven’t begun production yet or even been announced.

Since there are a lot of characters that he would be perfect for, it would be a waste not to have him get cast down the line. Hopefully, it won’t be too long until Bautista finally gets the call from Gunn to join the DCU, as he would be an incredible addition to the franchise.

Created by

Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson

First Film

Man of Steel

First TV Show

Peacemaker

Cast

Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Ray Fisher, Jason Momoa, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cara Delevingne, Chris Pine, Robin Wright, Zachary Levi, Dwayne Johnson, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Strong, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Djimon Hounsou, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Jurnee Smollett, Rosie Perez, Ella Jay Basco, Ali Wong, Ewan McGregor, Idris Elba, John Cena, Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Xolo Mariduena

Movie(s)

Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, Justice League, Aquaman, Shazam!, Birds of Prey, Wonder Woman 1984, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, The Suicide Squad, Black Adam, Shazam! The Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Superman, The Brave and the Bold

Character(s)

Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Cyborg, Harley Quinn, The Joker, Shazam, Darkseid, Amanda Waller, Lex Luthor, Doomsday, Deadshot, Deathstroke, Black Canary, Black Adam

The DC Universe is one of the biggest comic book franchises and often competes with Marvel. DC Comics started as National Allied Publications, founded by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson in 1935. Since then, the franchise has exploded with thousands of comic books, movies, TV shows, and video games. 2013 marked the beginning of the most recent iteration of the superheroes, with Zack Snyder introducing Henry Cavill as Superman. After several movies with mixed reviews, DC underwent a soft reboot under the helm of James Gunn and Peter Safran.