Even though the DC fandom’s collective hopes for the perfect Bane casting in Dave Bautista have been crushed, fancasters haven’t given up hope on bringing the Guardians of the Galaxy and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery star into James Gunn’s rebooted DC Universe.
Bautista detailed his conversation with Gunn about his bleak prospects as the iconic villain while on the promotional circuit for his upcoming film Knock at the Cabin, so fans took it upon themselves to find another role that will fit Bautista like a glove.
It’s none other than Hugo Strange – and this Twitter post offered up a solid side-by-side comparison to boot:
For those out of the loop, Hugo Strange (not to be confused with Marvel’s Doctor Strange) is another iconic Batman villain who is essentially a mad scientist and criminal mastermind. He has previously been brought to live-action by the talents of BD Wong in Gotham.
While we would have loved to have seen Bautista as Bane, a role that the actor has been vocal about wanting in the past, we can certainly settle for Hugo Strange, particularly given the age issue the actor brought up when detailing his conversations with Gunn.
In short, Gunn’s vision for the DC universe involves casting younger actors who will be able to reprise their roles for the next 15 years, as was initially hinted at when Henry Cavill was tragically ousted from his role as Superman. With that in mind, Bautista also doesn’t see himself bringing life to an extremely action-heavy and physical character like Bane well into his sixties, and you know what, fair enough.
In the meantime, we will continue to anxiously wait with bated breath for Gunn to reveal his slate for a brand-new DC Universe. The wait is so excruciating, it’s even gotten a congressman stirred up.