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In a new interview with The Howard Stern Show, Stern asked Gunn who his original choice was to play the character, as he had a hard time seeing anyone other than Cena pulling that role off. That’s when Gunn revealed he had actually written the role with his Guardians of the Galaxy cohort Dave Bautista in mind, and Bautista was even offered the role.
“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, 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,” Gunn said.
A Very Different Peacemaker
It’s hard to picture someone other than Cena playing the role of Peacemaker, though after hearing Bautista’s name, I can certainly see the vision there. Bautista has shown his knack for blending real emotional moments with comedic sensibilities in several different projects, and like Cena, he certainly has the imposing build to make Peacemaker appear like a walking tank.
