RZA Snags Wrestler Batista For ‘The Man with the Iron Fist’

(AllHipHop News) Wu-Tang Clan producer The RZA has snagged WWE star Batista for his upcoming new movie The Man with the Iron Fist. The movie, which is being directed by RZA and also stars Academy Award winning actor Russell Crowe, centers around a blacksmith, who forges weapons for the inhabitants of a village in feudal […]

(AllHipHop News) Wu-Tang Clan producer The RZA has snagged WWE star Batista for his upcoming new movie The Man with the Iron Fist. The movie, which is being directed by RZA and also stars Academy Award winning actor Russell Crowe, centers around a blacksmith, who forges weapons for the inhabitants of a village in feudal China when they are forced to defend themselves.In an interview with movie site ComingSoon.net, RZA revealed that the wrestler born Dave Batista, will star in The Man with the Iron fist a character named Glass Body. “I would love to bring these worlds together. That’s what I’m striving to do. My budget is not as big as some of these movies, so I’ve got to pull a lot of favors," RZA said. "Another buddy who is on board is Dave Batista, the world wrestling champion who left and now he’s into Strikeforce and he’s going to be doing mixed martial arts. To have him come on as ‘Glass Body,’ when I talked to him about it, he was like, ‘I always wanted to be The Toad in Five Deadly Venoms, and I said, ‘this isn’t The Toad but the character is very similar,’ and he said it would be his honor to do it. So to have him and Russell Crowe standing beside each other, two men, real men, is exciting. But I’m looking to make this an international thing that brings both worlds under one umbrella and get out a good piece of art.”While The RZA’s "budget might not be as big" as other movies, sources stated that The Man with the Iron Fist is being shot on a budget of about $20 million. In addition to The RZA writing the movie with producer Eli Roth, the flick is also being produced by Quentin Tarantino, Eric Newman and Marc Abraham.RZA will also star in the movie as the "weapons-making village blacksmith" that provides the weapons for the village to defend themselves. The Man with the Iron Fist will reunite RZA and Russell Crowe, who starred opposite each other in the flick American Gangster, which also co-starred Denzel Washington, as well as rappers Common and T.I.Additionally, RZA and Russell Crowe will star together in The Next Three Days, which is being directed by Paul Haggis. The Man with the Iron Fist is in pre-production. According to reports, the movie is due in movie theaters in 2011.