Dave Bautista made a lot of fans with his memorable turn as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy. This year, not only will Bautista be back as Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, he also is set to take on a prominent role in the highly-anticipated sequel Blade Runner 2049.

People are obviously excited about the return of Drax and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy crew. Anticipation is also high for Blade Runner 2049 but there is a much greater veil of mystery around that film and specifically Bautista’s character. Though Bautista isn’t ready to reveal much detail about his character, he is willing to offer a little hint to audiences eager to know more about the movie.

In an interview with Collider, Bautista talked about his role in Blade Runner 2049, and whether he will be wearing heavy prosthetics like in Guardians of the Galaxy. The actor assured everyone that audiences will see more of the real him this time around:

Bautista also remarked on working with legendary cinematographer Roger Deakens and Oscar-nominated director and self-described “child of Blade Runner” Denis Villeneuve, calling both men geniuses. Bautista also admits he got a little handsy with co-star Ryan Gosling:

“It’s very obvious that it’s me. It’s a very cool role, but I think the film itself is going to be so huge, as well as Guardians, but people are very familiar with Guardians. It’s really not the same, because people have been waiting 30 years for a sequel to Blade Runner, so there’s just such a high anticipation.”

“It was weird (laughing). It is a little embarrassing to admit, but the biggest deal for me — and I love Harrison Ford, I’m a huge Harrison fan — but the biggest deal for me was Ryan. I couldn’t stop hugging the poor guy.

Blade Runner 2049 has been a long time coming. Plans for a sequel to the 1982 film had been discussed many times over the years but it wasn’t until 2014 that things really started rolling; with story details coming out, news about casting and of course the big report that Ridley Scott would not be returning as the director. Fans may have been leery after Scott decided not to direct but they should feel reassured knowing that “genius” Arrival director Villeneuve is onboard.

Villeneuve himself is perfectly well-aware of the huge expectations that come with making a sequel to Blade Runner. Fans are so amped for this movie, one of them even created a VR version of Deckard’s apartment. The big question fans have is whether the movie will confirm that Deckard is a Replicant, though early indications are that this question may not be addressed at all.

At the end of the day, Blade Runner 2049 will have the same problem all reboots/sequels of older properties have in trying to balance the expectations/hopes of older fans while creating something fresh that will connect with young audiences. Whether Villeneuve, Gosling, Ford, Bautista and company pull this off is something we won’t know until the movie comes out this fall.

Source: Collider

  • Blade Runner 2 Release Date: 2017-10-06