Dave Bautista says he is done playing Drax in the MCU and is open to another Marvel role or working with James Gunn at DC.
With Gunn in charge of DC Studios, and with the Russos back at Marvel on Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, Bautista says he actually contacted both Gunn and Joe and Anthony Russo.
What did Dave Bautista say about DC and Marvel?
In an interview with Comic Book, the wrestler turned actor said he’s done with Drax.
“Drax is completely closed to me,” Bautista said. “Unless James Gunn called me and asked if I would do something as Drax again, I just wouldn’t be interested. If James called me, which obviously is not gonna happen. He’s doing okay, he’s gone a different route [with DC].”
While he won’t be playing Drax anymore (too bad, if they are indeed adapting Annihilation in the Nova series, Bautista could have been “reborn” in the role like in the comics and returned as the cooler and more cunning and smarter version), Bautista still wants to play in the world of comics.
“But I do wanna be in that world,” he continued. “I’m a fan of that world. I’m a fan of comic books and that whole universe. Marvel, DC, I just wanna be in it. I made that known to James, I made that known to the Russo Brothers. Personally, I talked to them, all of them, and told them, ‘Don’t count me out. If there’s a character that I’d be right for and that you want me for, man, I’d be totally open-minded to it.’ It’s just the Drax character ran its course.”
Dave Bautista tired of goofy Drax
Following the release of Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Dave Bautista also said he was done with Drax and even with Marvel.
“Drax isn’t going anywhere. He just won’t be played by this dude! by the time G3 comes out I’ll be 54 yrs old for gods sake! I’,m expecting everything to start sagging any second now,” he tweeted at the time.
Bautista also wasn’t happy when Marvel said no to a Drax spinoff, and he didn’t like how goofy the character had become. He filled in Collider back in 2021:
“That role changed the trajectory of my life. It’s always going to be special to me. Now that I’m four films in…I really wished they would have invested more in Drax, personally. Because I think Drax has more of a story to tell. 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. Selfishly, as a performer, that would have given me the opportunity to show different sides of Drax, emotionally. And physically as well. Because, if you notice, Drax, although he looks like a badass, you look at him and he looks terrifying, but 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, then they tapped into it more, then they really dug a hole into it. But we missed a huge boat on that character and I don’t think it’ll ever come back around. But I’m really just looking forward to finishing out this whole journey.”
Who could Dave Bautista play?
Maybe in the MCU, Dave Bautista could play a more grounded character? In a previous interview, he said he wants to play a villain. For the DCU, Batista has always wanted to play Bane, but Bautista said he thinks he’s tool old for the role and that Gunn is casting younger actors for the DCU.
“You need to start to plan for the next 15 years, and I just don’t think you can do that with me,” Bautista told Insider back in 2023. “And I understand that. And, also, I have to say that I appreciate that because I don’t want to play a character that I can’t bring justice to it. I don’t think at this point in my career that I can bring justice to Bane anymore. I just don’t know if I could handle the physical part, and I don’t think I would have the longevity to plan ahead for films. So, I just don’t know if I’d be that guy.”
