Dave Bautista knows his time as Drax is winding down, and he already has a suggestion on how the character can live on without him in a solo film.
Bautista recently spoke with Slash Film and talked about the possibility that he’s done playing Drax the Destroyer after the third Guardians of the Galaxy film. Last week, he said he feels like his time in the role is coming to an end, and now says he wishes Marvel would recast the character for a solo film that explores Drax’s “Destroyer” side more than they did in the MCU films.
“It’s weird, because sometimes you’ll hear me say, ‘I wish they dove into the Destroyer side,’ which originally I thought they were going to do in Guardians 2. Because the Marvel Universe still hasn’t seen Drax the Destroyer. But he tapped into the comedic side, and that’s what people fell in love with,” Bautista said, “so we just dove into it more. I was just very fortunate to be in that kind of perfect storm of having this huge film and having this great, rich character and having James Gunn write and direct for this character.”
Bautista continued, explaining that there’s still a great story to be told with Drax.
“But you know what I really wish for? I really hope that going forward they will reboot Drax, and I think Drax the Destroyer could be a standalone film. I think it could be something new and something different. Drax has such a great story, and I think time would have to go by and people would have to be willing to accept a new story, a new character, a new Drax the Destroyer. But I hope someday that they just recast it and reboot just Drax the Destroyer and focus on that story, because it’s a great story. I mean, there’s so much emotion there, so much rage. I still think there could be moments of humor: it’s just funny that Drax takes everything literally,” Bautista said. “But also I think the films can’t be too dark in tone. They have to have moments of levity, and I think Drax would be that perfect character. I hope they reboot him someday.”
Despite wanting to see a different side to the Drax character, Bautista is very appreciative of the opportunity the role gave him as well as the balance they found in the Guardians films. He credited James Gunn for helping him find the character and writing for his strengths, and referred to Drax as the director’s muse.
Bautista will be seen next in Army of the Dead, in theaters on May 14, 2021 and on Netflix on May 21, 2021.
