Marvel Gives Former WWE Champion David Bautista Guardians of the Galaxy Role

Well, at least no one can say he doesn’t look the part, right? 

Marvel has solidified a deal with former WWE star and MMA fighter David Bautista (aka Batista) to play Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy. Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa was previously rumored to be in negotiations but rumor also had it he was asking for too much money.

The Hollywood Reporter writes:

Bautista now becomes the second actor after Chris Pratt to join the project, which has ties to The Avengers and will connect to other Marvel movies.

Galaxy centers on Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Pratt), a U.S. pilot who ends up in space in the middle of a universal conflict and goes on the run with futuristic ex-cons who have something everyone wants, according to the plot description.

Drax is a human resurrected as a green warrior for the sole purpose of killing Thanos (the villain in the final-scene tease of Avengers). His powers include flight, super-strength and energy blasts.

Bautista doesn’t have many acting roles on his resume, unless you count his time with the WWE, which I do. He recently starred in RZA’s The Man with the Iron Fist and is in the upcoming Riddick film. Bautista’s no stranger to comic book related roles however, he guest-starred as an alien on The CW’s Smallville.

Guardians of the Galaxy still has a ways to go before casting is complete. They still have to find actors to play the adopted daughter of Thanos, a giant tree, and a raccoon.

(via The Hollywood Reporter)

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Jill Pantozzi

Jill Pantozzi is a pop-culture journalist and host who writes about all things nerdy and beyond! She’s Editor in Chief of the geek girl culture site The Mary Sue (Abrams Media Network), and hosts her own blog “Has Boobs, Reads Comics” (TheNerdyBird.com). She co-hosts the Crazy Sexy Geeks podcast along with superhero historian Alan Kistler, contributed to a book of essays titled “Chicks Read Comics,” (Mad Norwegian Press) and had her first comic book story in the IDW anthology, “Womanthology.” In 2012, she was featured on National Geographic’s "Comic Store Heroes," a documentary on the lives of comic book fans and the following year she was one of many Batman fans profiled in the documentary, "Legends of the Knight."

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