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.”

Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella The Killer's Game

“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.”

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.”

The Killer's Game Pom Klementieff

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.”