Turns out, Always Sunny In Philadelphia almost had one of the MCU‘s Guardians of the Galaxy on board. In an episode of the Always Sunny podcast, it’s revealed that Dave Bautista was in consideration for a guest spot early on.
In 2006, when putting together only the second season of the hit TV series, they were casting for the role of Mac’s father, Luther MacDonald. Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day, and Glenn Howerton are all discussing who it came down for the part, when McElhenney floats that it’s someone that’s since become huge. Once everyone’s racked their brains he says that none other than Dave Bautista was in the final four.
Cue some genuine shock and awe. At the time, Bautista was trying to dip his toes into acting, and it’d still be years before it became a viable career besides pro wrestling for him. McElhenney states that Bautista tested well, but wasn’t old enough. The person they chose, Gregory Scott Cummins, is 13 years older, and they still had to put a few more years on him to fully capture the look.
The rest, as they say, is history. Cummins has enjoyed a recurring part on Always Sunny since, appearing some eight times. We doubt Bautista has any complaints about his trajectory, either.
Still, what could have been!