Which massive movie franchise did Dave Bautista refuse to join? Real reason for his refusal

Dave Bautista is one of the few WWE Superstars who has successfully transitioned from sports to movies. He is best known for his role as Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise at Marvel. As it turns out, he was also offered a position in the DC Universe.

Speaking with Digital Spy in 2021, Dave Bautista revealed that he turned down a role in Suicide Squad. The former WWE Champion shared that he was excited after James Gunn, director of the DC movie, wrote a role for him in the movie. However, he had to rethink taking it after he got a lead role offer from Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead film.

Batista eventually chose the Army of the Dead. He cited that despite having a good relationship with James, there were a lot of factors for picking the Snyder film. The actor cited how he wanted to establish a relationship with Netflix, work with Zack, get a lead role, and the salary is much higher.

"I had The Suicide Squad where I got to work with my boy again, even though it's a smaller role, and then I had Army of the Dead on which I get to work with Zack, I get to build a relationship with Netflix, I get a lead role in a great film – and I get paid a lot more money,"

Despite not having The Animal in the film, the second Suicide Squad still had a WWE Superstar on their team. John Cena played the role of Peacemaker, which eventually got its own TV series after much interest in the character. Army of the Dead was released on Netflix in May 2021. In its first 28 days on the platform, the movie was watched in 75 million households.

Dave Bautista reveals James Gunn's reaction after he turned down a role in his movie

After portraying the Marvel character in 2014, Dave Bautista went on to appear in the Avengers franchise, Dune, Glass Onion (Sequel of Knives Out), and more. Gunn's role in the WWE star's acting career was clearly impactful, and the director was nothing but proud.

In the same interview, Dave shared that he called Gunn apologetically about not joining the Suicide Squad movie. The director stated that he understood the situation and was glad that he had something to do with Dave making those types of difficult decisions.

The 54-year-old proved that his success is not just limited to the wrestling ring, but also in the movie industry. It remains to be seen when Dave Bautista will be seen in WWE again.