Although 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy was by no means his first film credit, Dave Bautista made his breakthrough into Hollywood playing Drax the Destroyer in the 10th of the Marvel movies in order. Bautista went on to reprise the role six more times, with Drax’s story coming to a close in 2023 with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. However, Bautista hasn’t been shy voicing his dissatisfaction with how Drax was handled, and he recently shared what he wishes had been done differently with the character during his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While speaking with journalist Jake Hamilton about his new movie In the Lost Lands, which comes out next week on the 2025 release schedule, Bautista was asked which past movie of his he would find the most interesting to be told directly from the perspective of the character he played from his point of view. He selected Drax the Destroyer, saying:
Probably the best would be Drax. I think Drax, because if Drax could actually tell his whole story – this is a bittersweet conversation with me, because I always thought there was so much story to tell there. And, for reason, Marvel just didn’t see it, which drove me crazy.
Dave Bautista’s criticism of Drax’s narrative journey in the MCU stretches back to 2021, when he told a fan on social media that he was disappointed with how the character’s storyline with Thanos played out. Then in January 2023, Dave Bautista said it was a “relief” that his time as Drax was over, though he mainly attributed this to the grueling makeup process. By September 2024, Bautista said he didn’t miss playing Drax, although he did miss the “family environment” that he’d formed with director/writer James Gunn, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Pom Klementieff, Karen Gillan and Sean Gunn.
It’s a shame that that playing Drax the Destroyer didn’t live up to Bautista’s expectations. Granted, there’s only so much time that can be spent in these movies on Drax alone since he’s part of an ensemble cast, but the actor is also welcome to his frustrations about Marvel Studios not wanting to explore the Guardian more in depth. I understand why he’d be down for the opportunity to tell Drax’s full story. I would have been interested to see that tackled as a Special Presentation to stream with a Disney+ subscription, just like The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
While things didn’t work out with Drax in his mind, Dave Bautista did say earlier this month that he’d be open to playing a different role in the MCU, despite having bid an emotional goodbye to the franchise in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The actor has also expressed interest in re-teaming with James Gunn in the DC Universe, as he’s now running DC Studios with producer Peter Safran. So if Bautista returns to the superhero genre, we’ll tell you about it.
