The lure of working with Zack Snyder and a lead role was too strong to resist, explains Dave Bautista, as he leaves Suicide Squad behind.
Dave Bautista and writer/director James Gunn clearly have a great working relationship. Gunn’s casting Bautista in the role of Drax the Destroyer in The Guardians Of The Galaxy was a pivotal moment on the former professional wrestler’s career. In turn, when Gunn was fired by Disney for some historic tweets, Bautista was one of the most vocal advocates for his reinstatement.
As such, when Gunn picked up the gig to direct The Suicide Squad, he added a part for Bautista, a part which the actor ultimately chose to walk away from to star in Zack Snyder’s Army Of The Dead.
Chatting to Digital Spy, Bautista revealed some of the reasons behind his decision. “James Gunn wrote a role for me in The Suicide Squad which I was all fired up about, not only because he was making a huge comeback. He’s come back with The Suicide Squad and was rehired by Marvel, and has really been vindicated as far as that whole thing went. I was all up for it, and then I got Army Of The Dead, which was not only a lead role for me, but also I really wanted to work with Zack Snyder. I’ve been wanting to work with him for years.”
The actor went on to discuss just how supportive Gunn was of his decision, saying “I had to call James, and I told him ‘it breaks my heart, because as a friend, I want to be there with you, but professionally, this is the smart decision for me.’ [Gunn] said, ‘I completely get it. I’m proud of you that you’re even in this position. I’m proud that I had something to do with you being in this position where you have to make these hard decisions.'”
Whilst it’s great to hear that Gunn was keen to include Bautista in The Suicide Squad, it’s equally good to hear how gracious he was about the actor’s decision to depart the role. Army Of The Dead is set to release on Netflix on May 21st whereas we have to wait until August to see The Suicide Squad make its theatrical debut.
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