Everyone was dying to see Star Lord, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot in action, but Dave Bautista’s spin on Drax The Destroyer in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY was a surprise scene-stealer. The fighter/actor had been doing memorable stuff in movies like MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS and RIDDICK, but there’s no doubt that GUARDIANS blew him up. He’s got SPECTRE and the KICKBOXER remake coming up, and now, there’s another villain role he may up for for when he’s done fighting 007: that of The Kurgan, “the strongest of all the immortals.”
The rumor that Bautista will be appearing in Cedric Nicolas-Troyan’s remake first appeared on Latino Review last night, and we have yet to hear any sort of confirmation/denial from anyone involved. It may be early on in talks, and Bautista may be a dream pick for Nicolas-Troyan and the studio, but I don’t think there’s any question that his name has been banded around as a possibility for the role. It’s too much of a no-brainer. The only question is how far along talks are with the actor.
When I watch HIGHLANDER now, I’m more aware of its sloppiness and budget constraints than I was as a devoted young fanboy, but one of the (many) things that keep the film dear to my heart is Clancy Brown’s Kurgan. Growling his lines from behind exceedingly ridiculous getups/hairdos, and grinning with the joy of a barbarian who has spent millenia besting his opponents, The Kurgan is the ultimate adversary, a pompous, overpowering P.O.S. that absolutely cannot be allowed to win The Prize. He is as crucial to the character of HIGHLANDER (as a film) as Connor MacLeod or Ramirez, and if they’re doing a straight remake, casting that character is a huge deal.
Bautista not only has the size and intensity to do it (not to mention a penchant for growling out choice lines), but he also has the sense of humor to nail the 2015 equivalent of those classic taunts (“Don’t ever speak to me…don’t ever speak to me again.”). He showed he can brandish edged weapons in GUARDIANS, and as for dealing with The Kurgan’s extensive make-up work…been there, done that.
Ryan Reynolds is apparently long out of the running to play Connor, and no word yet on whether Tom Cruise will saddle up as Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, but if Cruise and Bautista both sign on, I think it’d make this remake sound more exciting (if still not at all necessary) than it has to date.
Bautista’s supposed to hop onboard after SPECTRE, so we should have more concrete knowledge by then.
