Dave Bautista recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about ‘The Killer’s Game’ and shared his role in helping cast Sofia Boutella as Maize in the upcoming film.
“Actually, when I was on ‘Army of the Dead,’ I remember Zack mentioning ‘Rebel Moon,’ and he asked me what I thought about Sofia,” the actor recalled when asked about his bond with his co-star. “So, I told him about my experiences with her and how much I loved her. I obviously didn’t have anything to do with her casting, but he did ask me about my opinion of her as a person. So, it was nothing but love and hugs and kisses because those are my true feelings about her.”
Though Bautista did not have a direct hand in Boutella’s casting as Kora in Zack Snyder’s ‘Rebel Moon,’ his influence was clear when it came to J.J. Perry’s adaptation of Jay Bonansinga’s 1997 novel.
“But I never saw anybody else but Sofia in the part of Maize,” the actor continued. “From the very first day I got the script, I started mentioning her name all the way up. During casting, I said, ‘I just can’t see anybody else,’ but there was a scheduling issue with her. So, they brought forth other actresses, and I just kept turning them down, saying, ‘No, I just can’t wrap my head around anybody else other than Sofia.’”
“So, then I said, ‘Let’s not look for another actress. Let’s just try to move schedules around so we can make Sofia work.’ It took a lot of doing from producers and agents and managers, and Sofia being willing to fly back and forth from Budapest to London while she was on two projects. But it was always Sofia, and it was always meant to be Sofia. I couldn’t see anybody else in the role.”
‘The Killer’s Game’ follows veteran assassin Joe Flood who arranges a hit on himself after getting misdiagnosed with a terminal illness. The cast features Terry Crews as Lovedahl, Scott Adkins as Angus Mackenzie, Marko Zaror as Botas, and Bautista’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ co-star, Pom Klementieff, as Marianna.
The film waits for release in the US through Lionsgate on September 13.
