Drax was introduced in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie in 2014 alongside a number of other Avengers characters. Bautista’s hilarious charm and comedic timing went down extremely well with audiences, making him one of the standout characters in the series. He later returned to play the character again in 2017 for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. Later this month Drax will appear on the small screen in Marvel’s new Disney Plus show What If…?
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Bautista is no stranger to talking to his fans on Twitter.
And with What If…?’s release date looming, fans noticed he would not be returning as the crazed alien.
One fan asked earlier this week: “Hey, Dave!! Why won’t you be voicing Drax on #WhatIf?”
The former wrestler couldn’t resist replying: “Let’s start with I was never asked.”
What do you think? Should Dave Bautista have been asked to return? Join the debate in the comments section here
Many of Bautista’s fans were outraged by this news, with one saying: “Well that’s just rude!”
Director of the Guardians franchise, and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, James Gunn even chimed in.
The director of The Suicide Squad simply replied: “What.”
Neither Bautista nor Gunn has spoken out publicly about the actor’s snub since it was revealed on Twitter.
Bautista has not been one to mince words about his employers at Disney in the past.
In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, he spoke candidly about playing Drax on the cross-franchise team-up films Avengers Infinity War and Avengers Endgame.
Speaking about working on a Disney film, Bautista said: “I’m kind of just there. I’m a hired actor, I’m told what to do, I’m directed what to do. There’s not a massive amount to contribute to the character.”
The actor, who was promoting his Netflix film Army of the Dead at the time, added: “It felt much more of a relaxed process on Army of the Dead. I felt much more like I was collaborating or contributing rather than just working for someone.”
Bautista went on: “On the Marvel films I feel like I’m working for someone. I always feel like it’s still a job.
“I never went to work on Army of the Dead thinking: ‘I can’t change things up, I can’t do things differently, I can’t add this.'”
Speaking about playing Drax directly, he added: “The thing is, I’m so comfortable playing Drax. I’ve done so many films as Drax now.”
“… Drax is so fleshed out. I am so comfortable with him, I know who he is, I know who my castmates are, I know who their characters are, I know James’ directing style and what it’s going to be like.”
Bautista has also spoken out that he will be leaving the franchise after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3.
He said: “We work in trilogies and James Gunn has already announced that it’s his last film, and when James is done I’m done.
“And I’m also going to be 54 years old by the time Guardians 3 comes out and just, like, the shirtless thing is getting harder and harder for me. The journey has come full circle, and I’m ready to just kind of step aside and wrap it up.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 and Vol 2, as well as all other Marvel films, are available on Disney Plus now.