Why Starring In Dune Was A Relief For Dave Bautista After Guardians

Dave Bautista considers his role in the fantasy epic Dune a “blessing,” following years of playing Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Drax the Destroyer. The retired wrestler-turned-professional actor’s breakthrough role in Guardians has led to several high-profile offers, from a short appearance in Blade Runner: 2049 and its prequel short 2048: Nowhere to Run, to more recently leading a zombie-heist in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead. Now, with plenty of roles coming his way, Bautista is looking to diversify his acting résumé, starting with Dune‘s villainous Glossu Rabban.

But Bautista’s Glossu Rabban is just a small piece of the larger puzzle that makes up the Dune universe – a complicated space opera made up of politics, dense mythology, war, and sandworms. Dune follows the noble House Atreides, who are transferred to the harsh desert planet of Arrakis by their Emperor to oversee the mining of a life-altering drug called Spice. While the movie barely scrapes the sides of the intricate Frank Herbert Dune novels, it successfully lays the groundwork for the franchise to become something huge. It also introduces audiences to many of the characters that will shape the movies to come. While some of these won’t feel fleshed out just yet, including Bautista’s turn as one of the universe’s most villainous beings, the true depth of Dune has only just begun to unravel.

During an interview with ABC News, Bautista discussed how thankful he is to showcase his acting range with his role in Dune. He also went on to say how much he loved working with Dune director Denis Villeneuve, who gave the actor the opportunity to showcase his range of skills. While on the subject of playing Drax, Bautista reminded viewers that he’s “not just a guy walking around shirtless.“

“The thing with this character was it just gave me an opportunity to showcase a different type of performance. 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 previously discussed his feelings on Marvel’s handling of his Guardians of the Galaxy character, and his frustrations are understandable. Despite the popularity of the Marvel films and his portrayal of the topless space warrior, the character is, for the most part, just there for comedic effect. Thankfully for the actor, it looks like more mature roles will start coming thick and fast, as Bautista is already confirmed to appear in the sequel to murder-mystery Knives Out. Unsurprisingly, Bautista has also said it’s unlikely he’ll return to the role of Drax after Guardians of the Galaxy 3 as he looks to expand his portfolio.

Despite not having the most expansive filmography, Bautista has already proven himself to be a fantastic actor with great range, but it’s clear that he wants to avoid being typecast. To Bautista’s credit, he’s received validation from his co-workers, including Stellan Skarsgård who has said he wants to see Bautista really test his acting skills by appearing in Mamma Mia! 3. While the likelihood of Bautista singing Abba on-screen is a pipedream at least, for now, Dune is the perfect large-scale epic to help bring people back to the big screen after a rough few years for cinema.

Source: ABC News

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