Matt Reeves' upcoming film The Batman, puts some interesting twists on some classic Batman villains, from a Zodiac killer-inspired Riddler to a deeply disfigured Penguin. Countless figures from the iconic rogues gallery have yet to make any appearance in this new vision of the franchise, and one of the most powerful among them is Bane.
Bane was created in 1993 by Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, and Graham Nolan for a storyline called Knightfall. Bane is an escaped convict from a South American prison who was subjected to chemical expirimentation while inside. Bane is a physical powerhouse, able to augment his immense strength with a chemical called Venom, which he becomes unhealthily dependent upon. While under the influence of Venom, he is often brutal and animalistic, but Bane is actually extremely intelligent. His motivations are complex, sometimes even working alongside Batman to defeat other criminal elements in Gotham. He is, of course, most famous for breaking Batman's back in his first storyline.
Bane has only made it to the screen in live-action three times. Each appearance is a bit contentious in fan communities. The first is in the somewhat poorly received 1997 film Batman & Robin, where Bane was portrayed by professional wrestler Robert "Jeep" Swenson. This iteration of the character was without complexity, Bane just provides shouting muscle for Poison Ivy without any of the intelligence or personality of the source material. Oddly, this is the only live-action version of the character to use Venom, although he is still probably the least accurate take on the character.
Conversely, Tom Hardy's Bane from 2012's The Dark Knight Rises is much closer to the original. Christopher Nolan's universe allowed the character to be an escaped convict who breaks Batman's back and leads a band of criminals through a clever takeover. Though Venom is entirely missing from this version, and many details are switched around, the character is closer overall and decently well realized. The biggest weakness of this iteration was the inability to understand him through his strange new mask.
Finally, season 5 of Gotham features Bane as portrayed by Shane West. Bane is given a full name in this version, never before attempted by other works. Eduardo Dorrance is an old friend of Jim Gordon's who is an escaped prisoner of war with the desire of destroying Gotham. After his defeat and a mortal wound, he is outfitted with armor and a respirator and reborn as Bane. Bane then leads a military detachment against the Gotham Police and is eventually arrested. Tying the character in with Gordon, changing him from a lifelong convict to a POW and removing Venom again make this take on the character different, but better integrated into the larger story.
Matt Reeves' Batman universe seems to be going for an even darker take than Gotham or Nolan's trilogy. With this in mind, the silly aspects of Bane focused on for Batman & Robin will likely be completely avoided. Nolan's Bane is a socially conscious criminal mastermind who just happens to be extremely strong, but a single supervillain leading a band of criminals feels a little too comic-booky for Reeves' universe too. Reeves' Batman movies will feature a fair amount of the mob and seem to be based partially around The Long Halloween, in which criminal gangs are a little more realistically portrayed. This Bane will need to be a bit different, in presentation but also in portrayal.
Clearly, one clever choice for Bane would be a professional wrestler. In Batman & Robin, this was a silly choice, but modern film makes movie stars of superstars constantly. A pro wrestler could sell the necessary physicality and intimidation to pull off a beast like Bane. Wrestlers come in a variety of cultural attitudes, John Cena for example is full of upbeat charisma wheras the Rock is more suave and powerful. Of course, both of those stars have roles in the DCEU already. One former pro wrestler actually may be a perfect choice, so much so that he has demanded the role already.
Dave Bautista is a four-time World Heavyweight Champion of the WWE and a movie star in his own right. As a WWE Superstar, the unusual crowd reactions caused him to turn heel prematurely, playing a villain becoming his defining role in the franchise. He is probably best known for his recurring role as Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While that role is often comical, and Bautista is certainly funny, he has also pulled off a number of more serious performances. He is set to play Beast Rabban Harkonnen in Dune, a cruel and violent conquerer. His enthusiasm for the role, beloved cultural status, and experience playing a villain could make him a perfect Bane.
Among Reeves' current villain cast, Bane could be the primary physical threat where none exists at the moment. Reeves' take on the character as portrayed by Bautista could focus on an aspect of the character that hasn't seen focus in live-action, addiction. Bane's Venom addiction is the source of much of his power, but it is an unhealthy chemical dependency. A dangerous criminal, rendered even more dangerous by the use of illicit substances which are slowly killing him would be a new dimension for big-screen Bane and for Dave Bautista, making The Batman even more unique.