Yesterday, we talked about how Dave Bautista is taking a stand about the firing of James Gunn. Unlike the rest of the cast of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the actor who plays Drax in the popular franchise has been very outspoken about his displeasure at Disney for dismissing Gunn, and according to a new interview, he may go the extra step of walking away completely.
Speaking to ShortList, Bautista talked more about the situation, and in no uncertain terms, gave Disney and Marvel Studios an ultimatum. “Where I’m at right now is that if [Marvel] don’t use that script, then I’m going to ask them to release me from my contract, cut me out or recast me,” said the actor. “I’d be doing James a disservice if I didn’t.”
Bautista is, of course, talking about the fact that Gunn had already shared with social media that the script for “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” has been completed and that filming was to begin in early 2019. It’s been no secret that Gunn’s unique voice has been the driving force behind the franchise, and many wonder if the loss of the director means a new tone for the film.
For Bautista, he doesn’t even want to find out what a James Gunn-free ‘Guardians’ movie looks like.
From other comments made by the actor, it sounds like perhaps he’s one of the few cast members that feels this rage about the decision. “Nobody’s defending his tweets, but this was a smear campaign on a good man,” he said. “I spoke to Chris Pratt the day after it happened and he’s a bit religious so he wanted time to pray and figure it out, but I was more like: fuck this. This is bullshit. James is one of the kindest, most decent people I’ve met.”
So, as Bautista threatens to walk, which could lead to a cascading effect with the rest of the cast, the question has to now be asked — what does the next ‘Guardians’ film look like?
Surprisingly, even if the entire cast of “Guardians of the Galaxy” decided to leave the upcoming threequel, Disney and Marvel Studios would probably be in pretty good shape.
Introducing the All-New Guardians of the Galaxy!
Obviously, Marvel Studios is not going to recast any of the live-action actors. That would be too much drama and confusion for the audience to understand. So, that leaves only a couple of options, death or retirement. Luckily, both can be handled in the upcoming “Avengers 4.”
Thanks to the Thanos “snap,” the entire team is currently in limbo anyway. And while it’s widely assumed that those victims of Thanos will return, it’s not guaranteed that they’ll survive the ensuing battle. Let’s just assume that the Guardians experience some heavy losses, with the actors not willing to come back being killed or retired.
Worst case scenario, that leaves only Rocket and Groot remaining, who are the two “mascots” of the team, and could easily have new voice actors replacing Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, respectively. And let’s be honest for a second, unless your name is Robert Downey, Jr, no actor is bigger than the franchise and can easily be replaced. You think Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, or Dave Bautista are vital to the success of “Guardians of the Galaxy?” After a decade of success, Marvel Studios has proven that the MCU is bigger than any one person, minus the aforementioned RDJ.
And guess what? With Marvel’s future plans, including the impending Disney-Fox merger, the studio has plenty of characters that could step in and fill the void.
Enter the potential replacements!
The Thing
Recently, in Marvel Comics, the character of The Thing, a longstanding part of the Fantastic Four, has been a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. And thankfully, with the merger happening in the first half of 2019, Marvel Studios will have the rights back to the character and could move forward with introducing him as part of the new Guardians. And of course, his space adventure could lead into the inevitable “Fantastic Four” film.
Nova
In the comics, Richard Rider, aka Nova, is a member of the Nova Corps (introduced in the first “Guardians of the Galaxy” film). When the Nova Corps is wiped out, he becomes the final Nova and a powerful cosmic character. And wouldn’t you know it, in “Avengers: Infinity War,” Thanos stole the power stone from the Nova Corps, off-screen no less. That means Marvel Studios could easily just say that they were all wiped out and Richard Rider is all that’s left. He eventually meets up with the remaining Guardians and joins the team. Easy!
Falcon, Winter Soldier, or Ant-Man
One of the most important aspects of the Guardians team dynamic is the human element that Star-Lord brings to the table. While the rest of the Guardians are alien creatures with fantastical abilities, Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill is the odd man out, for the most part. He’s the audience POV character that is the one that says what the audience is thinking, with charm and humor.
That’s where either Falcon, Winter Soldier, or Ant-Man can come in. All three bring that human quality that the Guardians need, while also providing a bit of humor along the way. And in the case of Ant-Man, the comics have proven that he can be a Guardian and fit right in alongside Groot and Rocket. Plus, honestly it doesn’t appear that there will be a third ‘Ant-Man’ film anytime soon, so why not use him in the team dynamic, in which he thrives.
Valkyrie
Talk about an easy solution! Valkyrie was tailor-made to be a Guardian. She has the humor and charm of Chris Pratt, but with the badass female vibe of Zoe Saldana. On top of that, Tessa Thompson is a rising star who could probably carry the franchise. This is a no-brainer. In fact, if she’s not a member of the third ‘Guardians’ movie, I’ll be disappointed.
Hulk
We’ve already proven that Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, works best in a team environment, as seen in all of his non-“Incredible Hulk” appearances. The Hulk is also a fan-favorite character that can add some star power to the franchise. And to top it off, he’s been in space before, with great success, in the film “Thor: Ragnarok,” which is the most ‘Guardians’-esque MCU film without James Gunn.
Iron Man
And finally, we have the big gun. If we want to secure a future for the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise without James Gunn, all you need is RDJ. Sure, he’ll probably die in “Avengers 4,” but if Marvel Studios thinks that the ‘Guardians’ franchise is in trouble, adding Iron Man to the roster will guarantee a hit. He gives you a better version of Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord and an instant leader. Plus, canonically, Iron Man has been a Guardian before, so fans will accept the change. This doesn’t mean he needs to do a whole trilogy of films, by the way. Just use RDJ’s powers to kickstart the franchise and hand it over.
Hopefully, this shows that realistically, actors like Bautista need ‘Guardians’ more than the franchise needs them. If they want to take a stand and stick with Gunn then, by all means, do that. That’s admirable. But for those concerned that means the end of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise, don’t worry. Marvel will be just fine.