Fans were pleasantly surprised when WWE wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Guardians of the Galaxy. Now, his time with the franchise is officially over after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Bautista played the role of Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. He is also slated to appear in the not yet released Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Thor: Love and Thunder.
With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 wrapping production, Bautista posted an Instagram photo with a caption that mentions how the franchise changed his life, and it really did. Though he had experienced fame from wrestling and a few film roles before joining the MCU, there was a clear explosion of acting jobs for him after his appearance. Since his role in Guardians of the Galaxy, he's steadily done multiple projects every year, including some very high-profile ones. He was in the James Bond film Spectre, Blade Runner 2049, Army of the Dead, and Oscar winner Dune. Bautista is also set to appear in the highly anticipated Knives Out sequel.
Though the character of Drax has a truly tragic backstory and his stature is extremely intimidating, he's always served as a comic relief character in the franchise. Drax is extremely dry and deadpan, taking absolutely everything as completely literal. He eases the tension in a few very serious scenes, but the depth of his heart can also provide those high stakes and more heartfelt moments. This made him very popular among fans and, while a lot of that is due to some great writing, it's largely due to Bautista's performance. The character clearly has meant a lot to him as well given the emotion seen in his Instagram post about leaving the MCU.
Though he will be missed by many, this has been a long time coming. It was nearly a year ago in an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show where he confirmed that the third Guardians of the Galaxy film will be his last time as Drax. At the time, he stated that his reason for leaving would be in part due to the physical intensity of appearing in the MCU. They're very physically demanding roles, and the actor is currently 53 years old.
His departure does have many wondering what exactly will be happening with the character of Drax? Will he reach a tragic end, potentially dying a hero? Will he simply move on and not appear anymore? Or maybe they will even attempt to recast him. Only time will tell, but fans are certainly invested.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is scheduled to hit theaters on May 5, 2023.
Source: Dave Bautista