To the surprise of Marvel fans, Disney reversed course on their decision to fire Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn and reinstate him on the third installment of the franchise, however, Drax actor Dave Bautista had already teased the filmmaker’s return.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly’s Anthony Breznican to promote his new film, Stuber, the conversation naturally turned to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 which was put on hold last September following the firing of James Gunn. Dave Bautista — who has been one of James Gunn’s most loyal and outspoken supporters — hinted at both Disney reversing their decision to remove the director and his return to the franchise:
“I think a lot of people who even made the decisions, they realized they made a harsh, rash decision that was probably not the best decision. He feels that they’ve done right by him, or as best as they could have.”
Dave Bautista went on, teasing that James Gunn and Marvel may have been patching things up:
“His phone was ringing the day after with Marvel. He’s bouncing back, big time. In the next 6 to 8 months, next year, you’re gonna see James Gunn bounce back in a huge way, which is gonna be a huge statement and real vindication.”
The Drax actor has been a harsh critic of Disney’s since James Gunn was let go last summer, standing up against the director to the alt-right provocateur who dug up the controversial tweets that led to his firing. While Dave Bautista doesn’t support James Gunn’s jokes that made light of rape and pedophilia, he doesn’t feel the jokes were properly represented in the midst of the backlash on social media and just because James Gunn has been brought back, that doesn’t mean he’ll be letting that go any time soon:
“I will ride off his coattails of vindication. And don’t believe I won’t rub it into a few people’s face, because he deserves it. He was wronged. At the end of the day, he was making jokes. He was being provocative and looking for shock value, but they were just jokes. He’s a good, decent person.”
Following James Gunn’s removal from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 last summer, Dave Bautista helped launch a campaign along with the rest of the Guardians cast to persuade Disney to reconsider their decision to fire James Gunn. He even went as far as to say that he would drop out of the film should Disney opt not to use James Gunn’s script. James Gunn had written the script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and was set to begin directing the film this past January.
To complicate matters even further, James Gunn jumped ship to DC Films to both write and direct the long-in-development Suicide Squad sequel, bringing a whole new take on the supervillain team-up. He’ll now do both films with The Suicide Squad set to go before the lens prior to filming of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3.
As for Dave Bautista, he is expected to reprise his role as Drax The Destroyer. He’ll next be seen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe this April in Avengers: Endgame.
Here’s the synopsis to Avengers: Endgame:
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos’ actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Paul Rudd, Jeremy Renner, Brie Larson, Josh Brolin and Chris Pratt.
Avengers: Endgame is scheduled to be released in theaters on April 26, 2019.
Source: Twitter
Top Actors To Replace Ben Affleck In Matt Reeves’ ‘The Batman’
Ben Affleck is officially out as Batman and it's a pretty sad day.
Words cannot describe how sad I am to see Ben Affleck announce that he's no longer Batman. His Batman is why I do what I do. In Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I fell in love with his comic book-accurate interpretation of the Caped Crusader. It was a breath of fresh air and it felt like we finally had the one true Batman.
Three years have quickly sped by and we're officially going to receive a new Batman for his next movie. Last night, Ben Affleck announced that he will not return as the Dark Knight in Matt Reeves' The Batman and now everyone's attention has moved towards wanting to know who the next Bruce Wayne will be. Matt Reeves is said to want an actor that's around 20 years younger than Affleck while Warner Bros. wants someone older. My guess is that Reeves wants a fresh start while the studio wants an older actor for crossover potential.
In this list, I will discuss the actors I think can replace Ben Affleck as Batman using the parameters that Matt Reeves and Warner Bros. want. Hit Next to see our picks to play the Batman.
Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender is an X-Men alum and no stranger to comic book franchises. The actor has shown multiple levels of range and could definitely handle the Batman/Bruce Wayne personality. If they go with the older range for the next Dark Knight, then Fassbender is probably one of the best choices to take over the role.
Ben Barnes
Ben Barnes is out of a job after The Punisher season 2 and he's one of the best actors in that series. The second season tied up Barnes' arc on The Punisher and the actor has already told us that that he'd love to play the Caped Crusader. Barnes definitely has the pretty boy look going on for him and I wonder what his take on Bruce Wayne could be.
Ryan Gosling
I've said this before and I'll say it again: Ryan Gosling needs to star in a superhero movie. I've always thought Gosling would make a great Batman. Every role that he's done has shown us his capability and he could crush it as Bruce Wayne.
Jon Hamm
Jon Hamm is my top choice for an older Batman. If Warner Bros. wants to cast an older actor for crossover potential, Jon Hamm is the studio's best bet. He has a similar look to Ben Affleck, and c'mon, the guy's look just screams Bruce Wayne.
Armie Hammer
Armie Hammer is 32 years old and was cast as the Caped Crusader in George Miller's Justice League: Mortal. That film will never see the light of day, but that doesn’t mean that Hammer doesn't deserve a second shot at being the Batman. He's charming, broody and will probably give his all for this role. Armie Hammer is a great option because he's young enough for Matt Reeves and Warner Bros. could work in a way for him to crossover with the rest of the DC Extended Universe.
Richard Madden
Game of Thrones alum Richard Madden is my top choice to replace Ben Affleck as Batman. The actor is young, has the look and definitely has the acting chops to play the duality of Batman and Bruce Wayne. Madden just won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television series for the BBC drama Bodyguard, so Warner Bros. may want to quickly snatch him up.
