Dave Bautista Plays a Hitman Who Mistakenly Thinks He's Dying in “The Killer's Game” Trailer (Exclusive)

The actors says this is "the first time I've been the full version of a leading man"

Dave Bautista is an assassin who makes a dangerous mistake in his latest movie.

On June 5, Lionsgate debuted the first trailer for The Killer's Game exclusively with PEOPLE.

Bautista stars as hitman Joe Flood, who receives a terminal illness diagnosis. Determined to avoid letting his ex-girlfriend Macy (Sofia Boutella) watch him die from illness, Joe decides to approach a longtime enemy and ask her to put out a hit on him.

When Joe's doctor calls him and tells him a mistake was made with his patient file and he is not actually terminally ill, he unsuccessfully tries to call off the hit. Joe must face the numerous villains — including one assassin played by Terry Crews — and reveal his double life to Macy.

"I've never been, like, really a full-on leading man — you know, a guy who's kicking ass and getting the girl and saying cool stuff," Bautista, 55, tells PEOPLE. "I've never been that, the full version of that. I think Killer's Game might be the first time I've been the full version of a leading man."

Related: Dave Bautista Posts Throwback Pic to When He Was a Teen with No Tattoos

"Nobody's really seen me have relationships on film — especially developing relationships on film," he adds. "Not that this is the rom-com that I've been chasing, but there are a lot of romantic moments and there's a lot of comedic moments."

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Bautista teams up with director J.J. Perry (Day Shift), a longtime stunt performer and assistant director, on the new movie. The pair are also currently filming a different project together; Bautista tells PEOPLE he has "never seen anyone as supportive of their crew" on a movie set.

"From my perspective, I actually didn't set out to make an action movie," Perry says. "I set out to make a love story that had a head-on collision with a full-on action movie."

Related: Dave Bautista Admits He Has 'Huge Man Crush' on Dune 2 Costar Josh Brolin (Exclusive)

A synopsis teases, "When top hitman Joe Flood is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he decides to take matters into his own hands – by taking a hit out on himself. But when the very hitmen he hired also target his ex-girlfriend, he must fend off an army of assassin colleagues and win back the love of his life before it’s too late."

The movie is adapted from author Jay Bonansinga's 1997 novel of the same name. The cast also includes Ben Kingsley, Pom Klementieff, Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror and more.

The Killer's Game is in theaters Sept. 13.

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Read the original article on People.