Dave Bautista to Star in M. Night Shyamalan’s Upcoming Knock at the Cabin

Pro wrestler turned screen icon Dave Bautista has had a pretty remarkable Hollywood run ever since springing to the foreground of the cultural consciousness via Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014, and now he’s getting onboard for another Hollywood right of passage—making a heavily hyped, likely confusing film with director M. Night Shyamalan. The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Bautista is set to star in Shyamalan’s next major feature, which is titled Knock at the Cabin. The film is due out from Universal on Feb. 3, 2023, where Shyamalan has been making movies ever since The Visit in 2015.

Next to nothing is known at this point about the substance of Knock at the Cabin, not that this is unexpected for a Shyamalan film. The title, though, can’t help but evoke the long history of cabin-centric horror and meta-horror, which includes films such as Cabin Fever, Evil Dead, Just Before Dawn and The Cabin in the Woods, as well as videogames like Until Dawn. It seems safe to say that this is probably a horror film, though if the marketing for The Visit taught us anything, it’s to expect the finished product to have either more of a comedic or meta twist than the studio lets on. Regardless, Shyamalan will be writing and directing the film, as is his way. His last film was this year’s Old, which had a very Shyamalan-like mixed reaction from both critics and audiences.

Batista, meanwhile, extends his streak of working with well-known directors, having recently come off making Army of the Dead with Zack Snyder and Dune with Denis Villeneuve. Of course he’s also worked with James Gunn on Guardians of the Galaxy, and has been cast in upcoming movies that include Knives Out 2 and a buddy cop picture with Jason Momoa. The man is truly making the most of his Hollywood experience and landing all the action roles he can as a 52-year-old former wrestler. After all, if Liam Neeson of all people can keep cranking out action movies all through his 60s, who’s to say how long Bautista could keep it going?

We’ll bring you more details on Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin as they appear.