James Gunn has become known for collaborating with the same actors over multiple projects, both in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe. Roles both large and small have been played by some of the filmmaker’s favorite actors, with one prominent example being Michael Rooker, who played Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy, Savant in The Suicide Squad, and Red St. Wild in Peacemaker season 2. As it turns out, one of the actors who first worked with Gunn in his MCU breakthrough directorial feature, Guardians of the Galaxy, almost played the character of Christopher Smith, who is the main character in the HBO Max series Peacemaker set in the DCU.
During his appearance on the Howard Stern show, James Gunn was asked who was initially offered the role of Peacemaker before the part went to John Cena. The director and co-chairman of DC Studios revealed that it was Dave Bautista who was first offered the role. Though, as Bautista had mentioned a couple of years prior, the actor would turn down the supporting role in The Suicide Squad in favor of the lead role in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead. Gunn would elaborate by saying:
“It was Dave Bautista, who’s a good friend of mine. Obviously, he plays Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy and I wrote the character of Peacemaker for him and we offered him the role, but he was offered two other movies and we weren’t paying him a lot, and so he had to go where the money was and I had always been a fan of John since Trainwreck especially. I thought he was so, so funny in that movie that I met with him. We talked. We became instant friends, and then since then, you know, I’ve worked with him more than any other actor because I’ve done two seasons of Peacemaker, Suicide Squad, and we’re gonna be doing more together. So, he is a fantastic guy, a fantastic actor.”
Dave Bautista’s Past Work With James Gunn Led to the Actor Almost Being Cast as Peacemaker
It’s unsurprising that Bautista was Gunn’s first choice for the role, given that The Suicide Squad was the director’s first project following his unexpected departure from Marvel. While Gunn would eventually be re-hired by Marvel Studios to finish his work on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, he would first have to complete work on The Suicide Squad and its television spinoff, Peacemaker. Given Bautista’s strong showing of solidarity for Gunn, going so far as to say he wouldn’t return to the role of Drax without him, it makes sense that Gunn would write a character with the actor in mind to continue working with him.
Still, it seems that Bautista turning down the role in favor of Zack Snyder’s film was for the best, as John Cena would come into his own in the role, so much so that Gunn would be inspired to bring the character back for a spinoff series. Now, Cena seems to have an exciting future ahead in the DCU, with Peacemaker season 2 being touted as a prequel to the upcoming Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow by Gunn on social media. Moreover, with the director teasing more work to come from himself and Cena, it doesn’t look like Peacemaker is going anywhere.
Peacemaker
- Release Date
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January 13, 2022
- Network
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HBO Max, Max
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Christopher Smith / Peacemaker
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Danielle Brooks
Leota Adebayo
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
