Dave Bautista Says His Bond Villain Might Return, WWE’s Vince McMahon Getting A Biopic

Wrestling! To some, a ludicrous, campy, steroid-fueled home of unintentional comedy; to others a true art form, a kind of theater that dates back centuries, a modern comedia dell’arte executed with as much skill and artistry as anything else out there. Either way, its impact on cinema is inarguable, from the brief screen career of Hulk Hogan to Darren Aronofsky’s moving, Oscar-winning “The Wrestler.”

With former WWE star Dwayne Johnson now possibly the biggest star in the world, that continues to be the case, and one performer who’s followed his path with a surprising degree of success is Dave Bautista. The former Heavyweight Champion, and sometime mixed martial artist, initially popped up in actioners like “The Man With The Iron Fists” and “Riddick,” but really broke out with “Guardians Of The Galaxy,” in which he proved to be a disarming and often very funny screen presence that suggested he could have a career to compete with Johnson’s. Bautista’s back on screen shortly with the ‘Guardians’ sequel, and in an interview, suggested that he could be back to show his face again in another of the mega-franchises he’s taken part in.

Bautista played the taciturn, dapper henchman villain Hinx in “Spectre,” the last Bond movie, and was actually one of the best things about that mess of a film. The bad guy was last seen being yanked off a train, but if there’s one thing we know about franchises, it’s that a seeming death rarely marks the end, and Bautista suggested that there have been some talks that could indicate a return to the series for him. “Yeah! Believe me, we’re talking about it a lot. We’re waiting at home with our fingers crossed,” he told Metro at the “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2” premiere.

READ MORE: ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2’ Is A Worthy, Surprisingly Emotional Follow-Up To A Superhero Classic [Review]

But for now, it seems to largely depend on whether his major co-star from “Spectre” comes back. “We’re waiting for the news to see if Daniel [Craig] will sign up for Bond 25, because then there’s a chance that Hinx will come back. I’m reading the rumours just like everyone else.” Right now, much about the future of the 007 franchise, including its distributor, remains up in the air, so this clearly isn’t a done deal. And not many Bond villains get more than one appearance, but Jaws, an obvious model for Hinx, did, so it’s not totally implausible that we’d get a welcome return to Bond for Bautista.

Meanwhile, there’s at least one wrestling-based movie in production at the minute: Stephen Merchant’s comedy “Fighting With My Family,” produced by and co-starring Dwayne Johnson himself. But another high-profile look at the art and business looks to be on the way soon: Deadline reveal that Sony are developing a biopic of Vince McMahon, the promoter and CEO of the WWE (and occasional wrestler himself), who helped to turn the organization into the billion-dollar corporation it is today.

The project is based on a script by “Underdog” writer Craig A. Williams, and will be directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, the men behind “Crazy Stupid Love” and “Focus,” so it’s a pretty major project. That said, it’s partly backed by WWE Studios, the movie wing of McMahon’s company, so don’t exactly expect this to be a warts-and-all portrayal…