After a successful wrestling career, Dave Bautista gained recognition as an actor with the role of Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy. However, after the franchise’s third installment, Bautista has taken a step back from the MCU to focus on other projects such as Dune: Part Two.
Bautista recently attended the premiere of Dune: Part Two, where the actor showed off a brand-new look. Bautista’s appearance quickly caught the attention of fans on social media, who expressed a desire to see him as a DC villain. Moreover, fans compared the actor’s look to one vital Batman villain from the comics after Bautista himself desired to play a DC villain.
Dave Bautista’s New Look Sparks Comparisons With One DC Villain
Dave Bautista plays the role of Glossu Rabban Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part 2. While attending the film’s premiere, Bautista sported a new look, one that showed off the 55-year-old actor’s white beard in a white suit.
Social media users quickly took notice of Bautista’s bald, white-bearded look with glasses and compared him to DC villain Hugo Strange. As a result, netizens expressed a desire to see the actor play Hugo Strange in the DCU. Here is what users said about Bautista’s new look on X.
I kno he has the range to give us an amazing Hugo Strange pic.twitter.com/vY70kPIhbx
— 🃏The One Who Laughs🃏 (@LaughingMan420) February 28, 2024
He looks like Hugo Strange
— 🤠 (@M011497) February 28, 2024
Dr. Hugo Strange vibes
— Saint Arkham (@Saint_Vv) February 28, 2024
Why Bane, he’s better as doctor Hugo strange
— DaEnforcer8484 (@enforcer8484) February 28, 2024
I see Hugo Strange there Warner Brothers.
Cast this man in a Batman movies as Hugo Strange.— Bellamy Wayne (@TheDark_ViKing) February 28, 2024
As the tweets suggest, social media quickly got on board with the idea of seeing Bautista as Hugo Strange in the DCU. Hugo Strange is one of Batman’s oldest and first recurring villains, first introduced in Detective Comics #36 in 1940. While Bautista has previously expressed a desire to play Batman villain Bane in live-action, the role of Hugo Strange might be more in line with the actor’s recent comments.
Dave Bautista Expressed Interest in Playing a Villain in James Gunn’s DCU
In a recent interview, Dave Bautista addressed the possibility of joining Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn‘s new DCU. While speaking with io9, Bautista stated that he would never close the door on a return to Marvel, but his time as Drax was done. Instead, he was seeking a more challenging role in the superhero genre.
“I just would like the opportunity to do a bigger role, a different role. Maybe a deeper role. I’d love to have the opportunity to play, like an ominous villain in the superhero universe.”
Bautista made the above statement hinting at a desire to play a more complex and multi-faceted villain. As a result, despite Bautista lobbying for and being frequently fan-cast as Bane, the conniving Doctor Hugo Strange would be an ideal fit for the wrestler-turned-actor.
Hugo Strange can compete with Batman on an intellectual level while his experiments pose a physical threat to the vigilante. Furthermore, playing a recurring villain like Hugo Strange would allow Bautista to slowly uncover the multiple facets of the villain and provide longevity to his time in the DCU. However, only time will tell whether Bautista ends up joining the DCU.
Dune: Part 2 will be released on March 1, 2024, while the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy is streaming on Disney+.
