Bad blood with Dwayne Johnson is why Dave Bautista refused Fast & Furious role

Dave Bautista was offered a part in the Fast & Furious franchise only to reportedly turn it down, and the reason for that, as it turns out, is fellow actor and retired wrestler, Dwayne Johnson.

Bautista is currently making a name for himself in Hollywood by taking on a diverse range of roles, such as Drax in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Rabban Harkonnen in Denis Villeneuve's Dune, a brief role as Sapper Morton in Blade Runner 2049, Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, and more recently, he was part of Rian Johnson's Glass Onion, where he played influencer Duke Cody, starring opposite Daniel Craig, whom he had previously worked with in Spectre.

Dave Bautista's dislike of Dwayne Johnson and refusal to join Fast & Furious

There was no clear reason as to why Dave Bautista refused to join the Fast & Furious franchise led by his Guardians of the Galaxy co-star Vin Diesel. However, it has been reported by many outlets, such as We Got This Covered, that the reason was due to his dislike of Dwayne Johnson.

Dave Bautista took to Twitter to share his disgust at having to do a Fast & Furious film with Dwayne Johnson and John Cena, another wrestler turned actor. Responding to a Twitter user, @TysonMaddux, who suggested he play the villain in a Fast & Furious spin-off, Bautista tweeted:

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Johnson appeared as Luke Hobbs in four Fast & Furious films and later reprised the role in his own spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw, along with Jason Statham, who plays Deckard Shaw. Cena, on the other hand, appeared in Fast 9 as Jakob Torretto, Dominic Torretto's (Vin Diesel) estranged younger brother.

He also replied to a now-deleted tweet from a fan, @TJRWrestling, who reminded him of a critically panned film that he did, Escape Plan 2. Stating how he got to work with famed actor Sylvester Stallone, he wrote:

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In an interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Bautista stated that he hated being compared to Dwayne Johnson and John Cena in terms of acting abilities, dismissing them as simply wrestlers who became movie stars while he was a wrestler turned actor.

"Do not compare me to The Rock or John Cena. Everyone does it, those guys are wrestlers who became movie stars. I’m … something else. I was a wrestler. Now, I’m an actor."

In the same interview, Dave Bautista also expressed his distaste for Dwayne Johnson's acting abilities. He said:

"Rock was, in a way, a movie star before he was even a movie star. There is something about him that’s special. I’d never take that away from him. Would I consider him a great actor? F**k no."

In a recent interview with GQ, the Guardians with the Galaxy actor said,

“I never wanted to be the next Rock. I just want to be a good f**king actor. A respected actor.”

While Dave Bautista has experimented with diverse roles and movies, many argue that Johnson's filmography consists of tried and tested action/adventure flicks.

Dave Bautista's upcoming projects include an M. Night Shyalaman outing

Drax in Avengers: Infinity War (image via Marvel Studios)

As for Bautista's upcoming projects, he will reprise his role as Drax in May 2023's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which he has hinted will be his final appearance as the character in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres.

"[Director] James Gunn has already announced that it’s his last [Marvel] film and when James is done, I’m done."

He added:

"I’m also going to be 54 years old by the time ‘Guardians 3’ comes out and the shirtless thing is getting harder and harder for me, the journey has come full circle, and I'm just ready to kind of step aside and wrap it up."

The former WWE superstar will also reprise his role as Rabban Harkonnen in Dune Part Two and then appear in the fantasy film In the Lost Lands opposite Milla Jovovich, directed by her husband Paul W.S. Anderson. On December 6, 2021, it was confirmed that Dave Bautista had been cast in M. Night Shyamalan's apocalyptic-psychological horror flick Knock at the Cabin.