Dave Bautista Was James Gunn's Original Choice For "Peacemaker"

Dan Lalonde
2 days ago
1 min read

Peacemaker John Cena Dave Bautista James Gunn

Which is the better comic book show for adults, 'The Boys' or 'Peacemaker'?

James Gunn recently talked with Howard Stern about how his first choice to play Peacemaker was Dave Bautista: "It was Dave Bautista. He'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 movies, and we weren't paying him a lot, and so he had to go where the money was."

Bautista's mutual wrestler, John Cena, took on playing Peacemaker and first appeared in a smaller role on Gunn's "The Suicide Squad' around the time Bautista filmed Zack Snyder's 'Army Of The Dead' which failed to create a franchise. No one probably expected Peacemaker to become one of the most loved DC characters of the modern era.

I personally think Bautista takes himself too seriously as an actor, thinking he's above what Cena or Dwayne Johnson have done. I can understand how he wants to get away from being a pro wrestler, but I don't think there's any shame in that, as giving promos on a weekly basis in front of thousands is a master class in acting school. Cena plays the character perfectly in a dumb jock way, and you can tell he's having fun.

Do you think Bautista would have been better than Cena? Is 'The Boys' better than 'Peacemaker'? Comment below with your thoughts.