Guardians of the Galaxy Star Dave Bautista Joins Blade Runner Sequel

Yet more exciting news on the Blade Runner sequel front—Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista, who portrays the surprisingly funny Drax with such aplomb, has just been cast to star alongside Harrison Ford, Ryan Gosling and Robin Wright. 

Warner Bros. sent out a press release touting the newest member of the Blade Runner team: 

Dave Bautista will join Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford and Robin Wright in an important supporting role in Alcon Entertainment’s sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 masterpiece BLADE RUNNER, it was announced by Alcon co-founders and co-CEO’s Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.

Director Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners) is directing. Principal photography is scheduled to begin July 2016 and the film will be released by Warner Bros. in North America. Sony Pictures Releasing International will distribute in all overseas territories in all media.

The film is set several decades after the 1982 original, with Harrison Ford reprising his iconic role as Rick Deckard. The film is written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, and succeeds the initial story by Fancher and David Peoples based on Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. Story details, as well as Bautista’s character, are not being revealed.

To get you into the Bautista spirit, here's a deleted scene from Guardians of the Galaxy that shows a drunk, and very sad, Drax trying to tell Rocket and Groot his life story.