Dave Bautista has been one of the most outspoken cast members of “Guardians of The Galaxy,” maybe one of the most candid actors out there today. The wrestler turned Hollywood actor was one of James Gunn‘s biggest defenders when the filmmaker was abruptly fired from “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3” by Disney in 2018 after tasteless joke tweets surfaced and were weaponized by alt-right trolls (and was subsequently rehired one year later). During his short ouster at Marvel Studios, James met with Warner Bros. committing to both write and direct their “Suicide Squad” sequel.
All this drama and new gig made for a serious delay in the third “Guardians” film which now won’t arrive on-screen until 2023 — six years since the release of “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2,” which feels like a lifetime in Marvel Cinematic Universe years.
Bautista seems to believe that his increasing age makes his future playing Drax The Destroyer over after “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3.” He suggested on Twitter this weekend that the character could live on, but he himself would be too old to play the part and would bow out of the role.
The story starts with an interview with Digital Spy. Bautista revealed that Gunn once pitched a “Drax & Mantis” movie with Pom Klementieff, but that he didn’t think that was happening anymore and then cast doubt on the future of much Drax beyond what’s already in the works. “There were talks for a while about a Drax and Mantis film. It was really because it was James Gunn’s idea,” he said. “He really wanted to do a Drax and Mantis film. He laid it out to me. I thought it was such a brilliant idea, but I haven’t heard any follow-up from the studio. I don’t think they’re very interested, or it doesn’t fit into the way they have things mapped out. But other than that, no. I mean, as far as my obligations, I’ve got Guardians 3, and that’s probably going to be the end of Drax.”
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Bautista (jokingly?) responded to a headline reporting on the Digital Spy news of Drax leaving the MCU. “Drax isn’t going anywhere. He just won’t be played by this dude! By the time G3 comes out, I’ll be 54 yrs old, for god’s sake! I’m expecting everything to start sagging any second now.”
James Gunn also chimed in on Twitter to support his actor and friend. “There’s no Drax for me without you, buddy! You ARE the MCU’s Drax the Destroyer and, as far as I’m concerned, could never be replaced. And you have the right to do whatever you want with your acting choices!”
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It was recently announced in Marvel’s Phase 4 presentation video last week that Gunn’s “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3” will hit theaters on May 5, 2023. Marvel Studios hasn’t announced plans for The Guardians beyond the “Holiday Special” for Disney+, which is said to be shooting alongside the third film. Gunn himself hasn’t exactly closed the door on future stories.
If ‘G3’ is indeed the last time we see Bautista as Drax, we’ll at least see him three more times in total. The actor, along with other ‘Guardians’ members, was spotted on the set of Taika Waititi’s “Thor: Love & Thunder” in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, confirming the reports the cosmic team would feature into the fourth ‘Thor’ movie before their appearance in Gun’s ‘Vol. 3.’ As Gunn suggests, while he is also presumably winding down his time as a Marvel and ‘Guardians’ director, “never say never” is always a good attitude to adopt with such proclamations.