Guardians of the Galaxystar Dave Bautista will continue his outer space adventures in STXfilms’Universe’s Most Wanted. Directed byRampage' Brad Peyton, the movie finds Bautista hunting down alien criminals while no doubt delivering delightful zingers and once again demonstrating his unmatched qualities as a brawny action hero.
Here’s the official synopsis forUniverse’s Most Wanted, via the press release, “In Universe’s Most Wanted, a small town gets a big surprise when a spaceship carrying theuniverse’s most wanted and dangerous criminalscrash lands in their backyard. Soon the sheriff and his son become heroes when they find themselves helping an intergalactic peacekeeper (Bautista) to keep the ragtag group of alien prisoners from escaping and taking over the world.”
Written by F. Scott Frazier (xXx: Return of Xander Cage) and Jimmy Loweree,Universe’s Most Wantedsounds like it was tailor-made for the talents of Bautista, and with Brad Peyton, who is famed for disaster flicks such asRampageandSan Andreason board, audiences can expect some big, crowd-pleasing set pieces aplenty as Bautista’sintergalactic peacekeeperhunts down the alien lawbreakers.
“When I first read Scott and Jimmy’s script, I was sold, as it’s the exact type of big, fun sci-fi tentpole I’ve been looking to do,“Brad Peytonsaid. “What struck me the most was how much heart it had and how much nostalgia it triggered. It reminds me of the great Amblin movies of my childhood. Dave agreeing to play the lead was the icing on the cake.”
Universe’s Most Wantedis just one of several action-packed projects in the pipeline forDave Bautista, with the recently released trailer forArmy of the Deadpitting the actor against zombie tigers, no less. Directed by Zack Snyder and starring Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera, Theo Rossi, Matthias Schweighöfer, Nora Arnezeder, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tig Notaro, Raúl Castillo, Huma Qureshi and Garret Dillahunt,Army of the Deadfinds Bautista leading a group of mercenaries plot a heist on a Las Vegas casino during a zombie outbreak.Army of the Deadhas been described by theMan of Steeldirector as “a full-blown, balls-to-the-wall zombie heist movie” and is scheduled to be released in select theaters and on Netflix on June 24, 2025.
Aside from battling the undead, Bautista is also due to enter space once again, this time in director Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel,Dune. Starring as Glossu Rabban AKA The Beast, Bautista is one of a large, star-studded ensemble cast that includes Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.Dunehas been delayed several times amid the ongoing global situation but is now scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States in IMAX and 3D on June 17, 2025.
All of this is without mentioning Bautista’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe forGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which sees the actor reprise the role of Drax.Universe’s Most Wantedis currently in pre-production and is scheduled to begin shooting in Melbourne, Australia in late July. This comes to us courtesy ofComingSoon.net.
