Zack Snyder's 'Army Of The Dead' Enlists Dave Bautista

Dave Bautista couldn't be happier that James Gunn is getting back behind the camera for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after Disney reversed their decision to fire the director of the cosmic Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. But before he reprises the role of Drax the Destroyer, the wrestler turned actor will be working with another superhero filmmaker.

Dave Bautsita has joined the cast of Army of the Dead, the first directing gig for Zack Snyder after departing Justice League in the middle of post-production due to a family tragedy. So if you weren't excited before, now you don't really have an excuse.

Deadline has word of Netflix closing the deal to cast Dave Bautista in Army of the Dead. The film is said to take place in the middle of a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas where one man has chosen not to run from the swarms of undead feasting on the living. Instead, he's putting together a team of mercenaries to head straight into the quarantined zone to pull of a massive heist. That sounds like the biggest gamble anyone has taken in Las Vegas, and since people have literally thrown their lives away on the roll of a dice, that's saying something.

At this time, it's not clear what role Dave Bautista will be playing, but we're hoping that he's the main character who rounds up the squad to pull of this heist. But we could easily see Bautista playing one of the mercenaries, especially since he's played a wide variety of dangerous individuals in movies like Riddick, Spectre, Blade Runner 2049, and of course, the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.

After being a WWE star for about 15 years (he's even returning to WrestleMania this weekend), Dave Bautista has become quite the in-demand actor. He's on the same kind of path that Dwayne Johnson took from the ring to the big screen, and he keeps landing more and more high profile gigs. It doesn't get much bigger than being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe nowadays, but he also has a role in the upcoming adaptation of the classic sci-fi novel Dune. Bautista is also enjoying roles in action comedy with Stuber alongside Kumail Nanjiani, as well as the upcoming family friendly comedy My Spy.

Army of the Dead is slated to shooting later this year. And since James Gunn is also slated to shoot The Suicide Squad later this year, it sounds unlikely that Bautista will be brought into the DC Extended Universe, as many fans have hoped. But that gives Bautista plenty of time to get other projects wrapped up before Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 starts shooting presumably sometime next year.