By now, you’ve probably noticed how Hollywood is home to working relationships that transcend franchises, studios or brands. In other words, if certain filmmakers and performers really click, expect for them to collaborate on various projects for years – or even decades.
One recent example is that of the mutual admiration shared between director James Gunn and actor Dave Bautista. Having gotten to know each other over the course of two Guardians of the Galaxy flicks, it seems apparent these fellas get along really well. In fact, now that Gunn’s been booted by Marvel Studios, Bautista hasn’t been shy about saying he’d be willing to jump ship and star in a DC movie.
To be more specific, he’s talking about The Suicide Squad, which Gunn will write and direct for Warner Bros. Already, fans have picked out a character for him, that being Bane. In fact, there’d been fan art circulating imagining him as the man who broke the Bat before, but this latest example concocted by Salman Artworks (seen below) actually shows part of the former WWE Superstar’s face.
Though Bane has had some association with Task Force X in past comic books, I normally don’t think of him as being part of the group. Regardless, Tinseltown has a penchant for making changes, so the mercenary’s inclusion can’t be ruled out.
Either way, it’s expected for Gunn’s take on the property to feature mostly new characters. While I’d dig seeing the likes of Killer Frost, Deathstroke or the Reverse-Flash added to the mix, I think Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller and Will Smith’s Deadshot should be retained, at the very least. After all, the 2016 original was a financial and merchandising success, therefore I believe it’d make little sense to ignore it entirely.
The Suicide Squad arrives in theaters on August 6th, 2021.