Dave Bautista: It was a “blessing” to play such a dark character in Dune

Dave Bautista shows up everywhere nowadays. Whether it’s killing zombies in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead, playing Drax the Destroyer in Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy, or most recently playing Glossu Rabban Harkonnen in Dune, the former wrestler is hard for sci-fi fanatics to miss. Going from playing a character as whimsical as Drax to the violent Rabban is a huge jump, and Bautista calls it a “blessing” to play such a complex, sinister character.

“The thing with this character was it just gave me an opportunity to showcase a different type of performance,” Bautista told ABC News. “And that’s what I really love about working with [director Denis Villeneuve], I get an opportunity to show myself as a performer in a different light.”

"I’m not just a guy in Guardians [of the Galaxy] walking around shirtless and saying stupid shit. [The role] really just gives me the opportunity to just play these like really, really deep characters. So that’s a blessing."

Bautista has never been shy about throwing shade at Marvel for how they’ve handled Drax, with many fans considering his story in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 overshadowed by other storylines. It sometimes felt like Drax was only there for comic relief. But in Dune, as the brutal nephew of the mastermind Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, Rabban is anything but.

And Dune wasn’t the first time Bautista was involved in a Denis Villeneuve movie; he also played Sapper Morton in Blade Runner 2049. We’re excited to see what else this partnership brings.

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 begins shooting!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has officially started shooting. Fans have waited a long time to see the team back together. In the break since the previous installment, director James Gunn moved sides to the DCEU to make The Suicide Squad, and now he’s back on Marvel’s shores to finish the Guardians trilogy he started way back in 2014.

Gunn shared the exciting news on Twitter:

The third movie will mark Bautista’s sixth appearance as Drax the Destroyer, and he’s clearly excited about getting back to work. “Good morning, everyone. It is Day One on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” he said in a recent Instagram story. That said, he does have one reservation about returning to the franchise. “I’m still trying to find out why the f-ck do films start so early? It’s still dark outside!” We all know that feeling now winter is here.

Dune is currently out in theaters. Dave Bautista is poised to reprise his role for the sequel, due out in 2023. In the same year, he will also return as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

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