Although Dave Bautista has been acting since the mid-2000s, that portion of his career received a major boost when he debuted as Drax the Destroyer. Nearly a decade later, he’s now made seven appearances as the character, including in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," one of the latest 2023 new movie releases. However, Bautista said earlier this year that while he “loved” Drax, he’s ready to move on from the role and wants to “do more dramatic stuff.” Keeping that in mind, it’s been announced that the actor has scored the lead role in a long-awaited action movie.

Lionsgate has acquired the worldwide distribution rights to "The Killer’s Game," the film adaptation of the same-named novel by Jay Bonansinga. Dave Bautista will play a veteran assassin named Joe Flood, who, per the official plot synopsis, is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and orders a hit on himself so he can avoid the pain that’s coming his way. However, upon learning he was misdiagnosed, Joe must fend off the “army of former colleagues” who are now determined to kill him. "Day Shift’s" J.J. Perry is directing the feature, and James Coyne handled rewrites on the script originally penned by Rand Ravich and Simon Kinberg.