John Cena’s Peacemaker Season 2 is currently airing on the 2025 TV schedule –also available to stream with an HBO Max subscription–and he’s so perfectly cast in the role it's hard to imagine anyone else under the helmet. But, you may have heard, James Gunn recently revealed he originally wrote the role for another actor, his Guardians of the Galaxy collaborator Dave Bautista. Now, The Killer’s Game star explains why he’s not mad about not landing the role, despite a ‘bit of envy.’
The Last Showgirl co-star talked to ComicBook.com about his new project, but took the time to give Cena his flowers and explained why walking away worked out. In his words:
It was a blessing in disguise that I didn’t do that, because I have to say, I have to be honest, there’s no way that I would have been able to do that role like John. He’s just perfect for it, you know, and I wouldn’t have done it justice, and it wouldn’t have been as successful.
The wrestler-turned-action-star doubled down on the honesty and pangs of envy, but still couldn't see a world where he could do a better job. Bautista continued:
So, look, and I am, I’m saying that with a bit of envy, you know, I would love it. I just wouldn’t have been able to do the same thing that John does to bring to that character. It wouldn’t have been the same. It wouldn’t have been as good. I can honestly say it wouldn’t have been as good.
Gunn shared that he wrote Peacemaker with Dave Bautista in mind for The Suicide Squad in a recent episode of The Howard Stern Show. If schedules and money had lined up, the Parachute performer might’ve worn the chrome helmet through two seasons of Peacemaker, Superman, and even Man of Tomorrow. Instead, a clash with Army of the Dead, which offered him a starring role and more money, kept him out. But Cena stepped in, and the rest, as they say, is DCU history.
It’s a remarkably healthy take from a guy who’s made a point of chasing character-first roles. Bautista’s post-Drax era has been about stretching, not just flexing, as he’s taken on everything from Blade Runner 2049, Dune, and Knock at the Cabin. Owning the idea that someone else was simply “more right” for a role is the kind of grown-up career math you don’t always hear in upcoming superhero movie land.
And, honestly, I agree with the Afterburn actor. Cena’s Peacemaker balances idiotic bravado with a weirdly sincere, wounded core. That tightrope act is why the show hits. It has satire and heart. And as brilliant as the Knock at the Cabin lead has been in specific roles, like Drax, recognizing that he couldn’t have brought what Cena has to the part doesn’t diminish him as an actor in any way. Still, it highlights how much casting influences the final product. Frankly, had Bautista been Peacemaker, I doubt we would have even had a spin-off series, and the character would have remained dead as he seemed to be at the end of The Suicide Squad.
Does this close the door on The Army of the Dead actor in the DCU? Not necessarily. He’s floated Bane as a dream role before, though he’s joked the clock may be working against him. Either way, he’s doing just fine, stacking interesting parts and keeping his standards high. But hey, if something shows up in the new DC movie landscape that the star would be right for, I think he seems fairly game to join Gunn’s world.
Peacemaker Season 2 premiered on August 21, 2025, with new episodes releasing weekly on Thursdays. Next up for Dave Bautista is a romantic comedy, The Romantic. Paramount Pictures recently acquired the film and does not yet have an official release date, but I’m excited to see the former WWE star stretch his range.
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