Here's Why Bautista Should Star In The Gears Of War Movie
The Gears of War video game series is back on everyone's minds, thanks to this year's ambitious Gears 5, which aims to revitalize the franchise with new characters and something of a different spin on the tone. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this resurgence has sparked discussions about a potential movie adaptation. With the Resident Evil film franchise set for a reboot and Pokémon: Detective Pikachu raking in the big bucks at the international box office, the concept of a faithful video game adaptation isn't quite the long shot that it used to be (we're looking at you, Super Mario Bros. movie).
As for Marcus Fenix, the main character of much of the Gears of War franchise? Why, for that role, there's only one man we're interested in seeing fill those boots and carry those absurd (and awesome) chainsaw guns: Dave Bautista. Let us tell you why he is hands down the right man for the job.
Why a Gears of War movie is a good idea
To understand why Bautista is a good fit, we should probably explain why Gears of War deserves to be made into a film in the first place. The plot of the series is rooted deep in science fiction tropes, with small battalions of soldiers standing against impossible odds. In other words, it's ripe for the kind of memorable action movie ensemble cast of a film like Aliens. Over the course of the series, Marcus Fenix has matured and grown as a character, so there's plenty of material for a potential franchise to borrow from and expand on in a big screen adaptation.
How close are we to actually seeing a Gears of War movie come to fruition? Well, one has been stuck in development hell for over a decade. It's changed hands a few times among various studios and filmmakers, with Underworld director Len Wiseman attached at one point. As of late 2018, a new script was reportedly being written by F. Scott Frazier, who may be best known for writing the screenplay for 2017's xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. With Detective Pikachu signaling a potential turning point for video game movies and The Witcher coming to Netflix, it's about time the Gears movie gains some more forward momentum.
Dave Bautista's pre-acting career prepared him for action
This brings us to the man of the hour: Dave Bautista, who has had quite a varied career. Before he became a movie star, Bautista was a professional bodybuilder, a job that he parlayed into becoming one of the biggest superstars in the world of professional wrestling. He joined the WWE after being told during a WCW audition that he'd never make it in that business. Under the name "Batista," he showed them how wrong that assumption was, being named the WWE's World Heavyweight Champion a total of four times.
Though he landed his first acting gig in 2006 (an uncredited role in the film Relative Strangers), he has left and returned to the ring on a few occasions, with his most recent wrestling appearance being April 2019's WrestleMania 35. In a message to his fans, he announced, "I am officially retired from sports entertainment and I am grateful for every second of my amazing journey."
One thing is for sure: Bautista's time in the professional wrestling industry not only proved that he could sell over the top action, but it opened the door for the next phase of his career.
Bautista's got the acting chops for Gears of War and so much more
Dave Bautista's acting career has already given him quite an impressive resume, even though he hasn't been at it for terribly long (by Hollywood standards). His breakout role was undoubtedly his turn as Drax the Destroyer in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, a role that he reprised in that film's sequel (and a third film on the way) and two Avengers films. As Drax, Bautista has shown an ability to balance humor and action with aplomb, something that would come in handy while playing the one-liner-spouting Marcus Fenix. In fact, Bautista's natural comedic chops are what led to him improvising one of the funniest moments in Avengers: Infinity War.
He's also proven adept with drama, as seen in his brief role as doomed replicant Sapper Morton in Blade Runner 2049. Director Denis Villeneuve praised his "charismatic and strong presence," and went on to cast Bautista in his upcoming adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune. Not only does the former wrestler's star power keep rising — his nerd cred does too.
Bautista is a genuine nerd
There are plenty of actors who fall into superhero and blockbuster gigs without having a huge knowledge of the properties beforehand. For instance, Patrick Stewart had never heard of the X-Men before being approached to star as Charles Xavier. Dave Bautista, on the other hand, loves this stuff. When he was cast in the role of Mr. Hinx in 2015's SPECTRE, Bautista admitted to being "a lifelong fan" of the James Bond movies.
More than that, if you step into the actor's home, you'll gain an even greater appreciation for just how big of a nerd he really is. He has his own "geek room," which contains such memorabilia as a lunchbox collection, multiple Funko Pop! figures of his film characters, and a replica of Captain America's shield. In other words, he's not just putting this on for show. The man is a full-on fanboy. So what better person to put in the starring role of a major video game adaptation than someone who would understand the importance of getting it right for the fans?
Bautista wants to play Marcus Fenix
In 2018, during a Q&A session with GameSpot, Bautista reacted positively to a fan who suggested that he should play Marcus Fenix on the big screen. "I've been pursuing Gears of War for years now. I believe it's in the hands of Universal Studios. And I've been knocking on their door and badgering them," he revealed. "But, yes, Marcus Fenix is absolutely a dream role for me. I want that role."
Since the actor admitted his interest in playing Fenix, it's been difficult to think about anyone else in that role. Unfortunately, Bautista has been fairly open about the fact that no one actually making the movie will talk to him about it. Responding to a fan asking about the film on Twitter, Bautista wrote, "They're listening. And they could give AF! ... Believe me when I say I've tried everything to make this happen." While it's unfortunate that he hasn't gotten the support from the filmmakers (yet), it could just be that the movie is still not in a place where casting can begin. Hopefully there's still a chance for Bautista's "dream role" to become a reality.
The fans want Bautista (and Terry Crews) in Gears of War
When it comes to why Dave Bautista should play Marcus Fenix, the most important factor of all might just be the fact that the fans want him to do it. And while they're at it, they'd love for him to bring another tough guy along for the ride: Terry Crews.
In July 2019, actor Stephen Ford tweeted at football-player-turned-actor Terry Crews that he and Bautista should star in a Gears of War adaptation together, with other fans and ComicBook.com chiming in that Crews would be perfect as Augustus Cole, a.k.a. "Cole Train." In response, Crews said, "Damn. I like this. I like this very much."
It's still unclear whether the Gears of War film will ever actually be made. However, with fans joining in the call for a Bautista-led Gears film — even starting a petition directed at Universal Pictures to try to show their support — it's clear that this is something that the people want. In a world where fan response can get the Sonic the Hedgehog movie a facelift, maybe this fan enthusiasm for Bautista could encourage the makers of the Gears movie to start off on the right foot, with the right actor.