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 with the successful run of the new Superman movie starring 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 Joe Deckelmeier recently interviewed Bautista for his new movie Afterburn, where DC was brought up, following the reveal that the MCU veteran was almost cast as Peacemaker for 2021’s The Suicide Squad. When Bautista was asked if he has had any talks with Gunn about playing a different character in his franchise, the actor 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 on the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy, for which 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 Disney+’s Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.

What Dave Bautista’s DCU Comments Mean

Given that DC Studios is still in the early days with its new continuity, there is plenty of time to get the Afterburn star in Gunn’s rebooted superhero franchise. Even though former MCU collaborators have already joined the franchise, there are still some major ones who haven’t, 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 Gunn’s comments about having a part for her, the Gamora actress had a similar answer to Bautista. 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 and thus hasn’t made them a formal offer.

Our Take On Dave Bautista’s DCU Comments

After hearing his comments, Bautista’s 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. Amid the upcoming DCU movies that are already filmed, there are still many that haven’t begun production yet or even been announced.

Because there are a lot of characters that the actor 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 does get the call from Gunn to join the DC Universe, as he would be an incredible addition to the franchise.