Damien Chazelle’s untitled prison movie looks to be adding Dave Bautista to its line-up. More on the story this way.
Plenty of professional wrestlers have attempted to cross the divide between the world of bodyslams (and body oil) to Hollywood acting. Hulk Hogan had a right old go at it in the 1980s and 90s, but could never really leverage all of that star power into a defining project that truly announced his arrival in Hollywood.
Dwayne Johnson has certainly bridged the gap financially, becoming Hollywood’s highest-paid star at times, but his recent career swerve into more serious fare illustrates that even The Rock has begun to realise that replicating his in-ring persona from the 1990s can only get him so far in Hollywood.
And then there’s Dave Bautista, whose film CV really has formed the template for how you trade the bright lights of WWE for the even brighter lights of Hollywood.
While treading the same well-worn path of mid-range action flicks as his predecessors, Bautista has made it his mission to seek out roles with the very best filmmakers in the industry. Often that means being relegated to supporting roles – such as his brief turn in Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 – but working with the best has no doubt advanced him as an actor and as such, the list of projects he has been involved in continues to impress.
According to World of Reel, Bautista could be in line to join Cillian Murphy and Daniel Craig in Damien Chazelle’s untitled prison movie, set to go before cameras later this year.
The film has previously been described as a ‘gritty, mid-budget prison drama with action elements’ that will ‘explore themes of justice and redemption’.
While Bautista’s involvement isn’t yet confirmed, you can already see how his talents could be put to work here. Unlike the aforementioned Johnson, Bautista has never been afraid to give his characters varying degrees of emotional and physical vulnerabilities. No contracts for him that demand the exact same amount of punches as his co-stars.
You can certainly see how possessing that kind of range (as well as that intimidating physique) might be appealing to Chazelle as he continues to cast his film. Should this report come to pass, then Bautista can add the talented filmmaker to a resume that also includes Villeneuve (three times!), M Night Shyamalan, Rian Johnson, Sam Mendes and James Gunn. We’ll bring you more on this story as we hear it.
