After becoming the summer’s highest grossing film in North America and collecting over $430.7 million worldwide at the box office, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is making a lot of people at Marvel Studios a whole lot of money. However, a new report indicates that some of the stars are being positioned to make even more, particularly a certain scene-stealing athlete-turned-actor that no one expected to thrive in a movie based on characters that barely anyone had heard of before this year.
In early 2013, fans were surprised to hear that former WWE Champion Batista would be entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Drax the Destroyer. But when the movie debuted this summer, Dave Bautista’s transformation from “The Animal” to “The Destroyer” enthralled audiences with his surprisingly awesome comedic timing and badass action sequences in James Gunn’s acclaimed Phase Two film. Because of success of the movie and the announcement of a sequel, it’s no surprise that the entertainer is in the process of renegotiating his contract. According to wrestling dirt sheet PWMania, Bautista and Marvel Studios are “restructuring his contract that will likely see him get more money”. The site goes on to say that aside from reprising his role in another adventure with Star-Lord and the gang, Drax would play a “significant role” alongside his teammates and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in the sequel to ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’, which was already rumored to include all of the Guardians. Basically, big things are on the horizon for Dave Bautista.
However, what does that mean for his WWE career? The report states that “people in Hollywood” are against a return to the ring because any injuries sustained could impact his future as an actor. We saw this exact thing unfold after Wrestlemania 29 when Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was injured in his match against John Cena and production on ‘Hercules’ was postponed. Although, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Batista has hung up his boots just yet:
“They feel that he didn’t get what he was promised and feel that WWE dropped the ball by not letting him use some of his own ideas to get himself over. Batista has expressed some of these same frustrations but it’s said that he does want to return. The two sides are in talks but WWE will be coming second to his movie career.”
With a promising film career ahead of him thanks to Marvel, it’s definitely no surprise that acting has become a new priority for Bautista. However, I could definitely see him wanting to have one last run with the WWE so that his legacy doesn’t end on #Bluetista. It’s definitely true that he wasn’t used to the best of his abilities when we last saw him on Raw or Smackdown, but the timing was just off. The WWE Universe was fully enveloped in Daniel Bryan’s Yes Movement during Batista’s return at the Royal Rumble and anyone who jeopardized that was automatically vilified. It was essentially being at the wrong place at the wrong time, but I felt like things evened out once he entered the Evolution vs. Shield storyline prior to the Extreme Rules pay per view. Either way, as a wrestling fan, I would like to see Batista return for one more run, but I could understand it if he didn’t.
What do you think about Dave Bautista potentially having a significant role in the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Are you looking forward to the Guardians of the Galaxy teaming up with the Avengers? And since he’s found all this success as an actor, do you predict that Batista’s wrestling career in the WWE is over? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
