Gears 5 is literally one week away, sooner if you ordered the Ultimate Edition of the game or have Game Pass Ultimate, and there are still surprises being revealed about the game. Earlier today, Dave Bautista, best known for portraying Drax the Destoryer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films and a storied professional wresting career, announced on Twitter that he will be appearing in the game.
Bautista has long desired to portray Marcus Fenix in a film based on the series. Unfortunately a Gears of War film has yet to come to fruition, so the next best thing is happening. In a post on the official Xbox website, Bautista will appear in Gears 5 as a playable character in the game’s mutiplayer modes. He will also be appearing under his professional wresting ring name Batista, and he will appear wearing Marcus Fenix’s COG armor. It was also revealed that Bautista recorded over 700 lines for the game.
Head of The Coalition, Rod Fergusson, stated,“Adding Batista to Gears 5, we started with the fantasy of ‘Batista as Marcus,’ putting Batista into Marcus’ armor, and starting with Marcus’ script. Then we added elements of “The Animal” Batista into his voice performance and onto his look by adding his signature Hollywood shades to his character. Batista was great in the booth and I can’t wait for Gears and Batista fans alike to stomp some Swarm as The Animal.”
Batista will be available in the game starting on September 15 following the WWE event Clash of Champions. Microsoft is also partnering with the WWE “to create a special countdown to Batista’s availability in the game, including behind-the-scenes with Gears 5 and Batista on WWE’s UpUpDownDown gaming channel.”
Players will be able to receive Batista in Gears 5 by playing any version of the game between September 15 and October 28.