The Suicide Squad director, James Gunn, has shot down rumors suggesting that Batman villain Bane would appear in his spinoff Peacemaker series. Set to follow on from the events featured Gunn’s DCEU debut, Peacemaker is set to see John Cena reprise his titular role as the antihero Gunn has previously described as “the world’s biggest douchebag.” Filming on the series wrapped in July, and it is currently slated for a 2022 release on HBO Max.
Bane, the Batman villain first created in 1993 by Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, and Graham Nolan, is the only supervillain to have “broken the Bat,” beating Bruce Wayne almost to the point of death and breaking his back. This comic-book moment was also given a special nod in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises when Tom Hardy’s version of the character similarly injured Christian Bale’s Batman before imprisoning him in the very same underground prison he was once incarcerated in. Previously, Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy star, Dave Bautista, had also expressed his desire to tackle the role, suggesting he went to Warner Bros. to tell them he would play the character despite the studio not having any plans of casting the role.
With Peacemaker now currently preparing for its 2022 release, a number of fan theories have suggested that Gunn may potentially look to bring Bautista in for his own DC debut as the brutal villain. When the website Movie-Scope took those rumors one step further and published an article suggesting that Bane’s character would be making his debut in Peacemaker, Gunn himself was quick to swoop in and set the record straight on Twitter. When YouTuber and film critic, Grace Randolph, chimed in to suggest that the character was only in one scene at the very end, Gunn reasserted his position that the character does not appear in the series in any form. Check out the original thread below:
While Tom Hardy’s version of Bane was a vast improvement on the character’s original live-action debut in 1997’s Batman and Robin, Christopher Nolan’s take on the character was still a significant departure from Bane’s original portrayal in the comics. Many DC fans are still eager to see a live-action version of Bane which gives his comic counterpart a more faithful on-screen representation, and Bautista’s willingness to assume the mantle only further fuels the flames of that anticipation. In a world where fan theories and whispers can easily take on a life of their own, however, it can sometimes be hard to keep track of what is and is not true when it comes to hotly anticipated projects like the Peacemaker series. Thankfully, Gunn is well known for his openness on social media, and his willingness to shoot down incorrect rumors about his work when they inevitably bubble to the surface.
News of Gunn’s official denial of Bane’s inclusion in Peacemaker will no doubt disappoint some fans keen to see the Batman villain make his return to screens. Thankfully though, Gunn also suggested that he loves the character, and he’s not opposed to Peacemaker “getting his ass kicked, so who knows what the future could bring.” With this admission, perhaps fans can keep their fingers crossed that he will eventually find a way to introduce the character in a future Peacemaker season or another DC project.
Source: James Gunn
