Latest Sci-Fi News: James Gunn gives Dave Bautista the boot as Dwayne Johnson’s ‘Shazam!’ slam is looking smarter every minute

via Marvel Studios/Warner Bros. Pictures

As DC fans impatiently await the incoming wave of first announcements for James Gunn’s plans for the rebooted DCU, one of his frequent collaborators has confirmed we won’t be seeing him play his dream role in the franchise, shattering hopes everywhere in the process.

Meanwhile, Dwayne Johnson’s own swift DC exit is looking like a smarter and smarter decision as Black Adam‘s sister franchise Shazam! gets some seriously bad publicity.

As major DCU announcements loom, Dave Bautista reveals James Gunn won’t be casting him as Bane

James Gunn has mere hours left to unveil his initial slate of DCU projects, but we can rest assured that Dave Bautista as Bane won’t be part of it. The Guardians of the Galaxy star has confirmed that he’s spoken with his old pal about the possibility, after campaigning for the role for years, but sadly it’s not to be as the producer is looking for younger actors across the board to spawn at least 15 years of the franchise, with the beefed-up Batman villain being among them. Nevertheless, he’s not ruling out a spot for him elsewhere in the universe.

Zachary Levi’s Shazam! self-destruction makes The Rock’s rejection seem a lot smarter in hindsight

Not too long ago, in the wake of Black Adam blowing up in his face, reports of Dwayne Johnson turning down the chance to cameo in Shazam! Fury of the Gods led to even more backlash against The Rock from disappointed fans. However, the latest developments in that corner of the DC cosmos are proving Johnson made the right call on this one.

Zachary Levi voicing his surprising anti-vax-esque opinions is only threatening to embroil the upcoming sequel in the same kind of controversy as, well, every other DC project, so The Rock was probably onto something in giving it a miss.

The Last of Us might’ve already delivered the finest TV episode of 2023

We’re not even a full month into the year yet, but it’s just possible that we’ve already seen the greatest episode of television that we’re going to get over the course of 2023. After an already strong opening two installments, HBO’s latest critical darling and commercial smash The Last of Us delivered a truly outstanding third episode this Sunday night, leaving audiences stunned by its brilliance and hungry to discover where the show is going next as it both honors its video game source material and heads off in a bold new direction.

Genre heavyweight Jeffrey Dean Morgan looks to be boarding yet another comic book universe

If you tried to count all the comic book properties Jeffrey Dean Morgan has starred in you’d fast run out of free fingers… The Walking Dead, Watchmen, Batman v Superman, The Losers… The guy’s a bonafide yet underrated icon of the medium. What’s more, the Negan actor is only adding more to his plate as Morgan appears to be hinting that he’s following up his incoming arrival on The Boys with a role in Amazon’s other acclaimed superhero series — Invincible. Who could he be playing in season two or three? Theorists, start your engines.

Tune in tomorrow for another helping of the latest news from the worlds of DC, The Last of Us, and much more besides.