Dave Bautista has reached a highlight moment in his film career with some decent buzz surrounding his new Netflix film “Army of The Dead,” directed by Zack Snyder, coming out this month. The wrestler-turned-actor was also recently announced as a cast member alongside Daniel Craig in Rian Johnson‘s murder mystery sequel “Knives Out 2.”
Bautista is also set to return to the Drax The Destroyer role for Marvel’s “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3” and has suggested that it’ll likely be his final outing as the super-literal alien bruiser with a sense of humor. Speaking with Collider, Dave reiterated it’s going to be his last one, saying he’s “looking forward to finishing out this journey.”
Bautista also said that he believes that Marvel didn’t exactly do the character justice but did not explore his backstory and not live up to the “Destroyer” part of the character’s persona, turning him more into comedic relief. Admittedly, he hasn’t read the next installment’s script and what their plans are for Drax.
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“I think Drax has a really interesting backstory which they dropped the ball on. That’s no dig on Marvel. They had their slate; I know what they’re focused on; that’s what they have slated out. But man, I think they really missed the ball on Drax. He has such a great backstory,” Bautista told Collider.
He added, “Drax gets his ass kicked more than any other Marvel character…The whole ‘Destroyer’ thing they just threw that out the window…people just fell so in love with the comedic side of Drax they tapped into that.”
It’s interesting how his comments could be framed as Marvel’s call when writer and director James Gunn has been pretty upfront about the creative freedoms he’s been given on both the “Guardians of The Galaxy” franchise and his upcoming DC Comics sequel “The Suicide Squad.” However, there are some excellent points made by Bautista, as Drax has a daughter Moondragon that becomes a member of the Avengers and also happens to be a lesbian superhero in the comics. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe becomes more inclusive, you’d think they would have introduced her while giving Bautista a chance to explore a father-daughter relationship; a daughter thought to have been killed by Ronan, The Accuser in the first movie.
James Gunn has confirmed on social media that “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3” will begin production at the end of the year, with a release date officially announced for May 5, 2023. Gunn also revealed that the Guardians-led “Holiday Special” for Disney+ would take place between “Thor: Love & Thunder” and “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3,” canonically in the timeline.