It’s learned that Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista will be returning to the WWE for Smackdown 1000, which will see the reunion of Evolution.
WWE confirmed the news on social media, which sees Dave Bautista reunited with fellow Superstars Triple H, Randy Orton and Ric “Woo!” Flair.
EVOLUTION REUNITES! @TripleH, @DaveBautista, @RandyOrton & @RicFlairNatrBoy will reunite at #SD1000 on Tuesday, Oct. 16! pic.twitter.com/L4YWKwrNuM
— WWE (@WWE) September 28, 2018
Dave Bautista Guardians of the Galaxy
Regarding if Marvel fans should be worried that this might mean Dave Bautista will not be returning to the character of Drax in the MCU or for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is unclear.
While it does presently seem as if Dave Bautista is only returning for the one WWE episode, it could actually mean the start of a lengthy return to wrestling for the actor.
Back in December of last year saw Dave Bautista state he does want to return to wrestling, but doesn’t want to do a one-off.
“The short answer to that is ‘yes, I would love to go back.’ But the reason I have not gone back is because I don’t want to do a one-off,” Bautista told the Ross Report. “I want to go and I want to wrestle, man. I want to do some house shows, and I want to be a part of the program.”
If Dave Bautista is only returning for Smackdown 1000, that would be a “one-off,” which is again something he said he doesn’t want to do.
“The one-off thing, the cheap pop thing, it doesn’t do anything for me,” Dave Bautista said back in December 2017. “So now it’s a matter of scheduling if I could go back…”
Regarding the matter of scheduling, Dave Bautista recently confirmed that as a result of Disney firing James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, which was supposed to start filming early 2019, is on a permanent hold, and he also said is he considering quitting Marvel. So we see the scheduling and the return of Dave Bautista to the WWE might come at the right time for the actor.
“Yeah, there is a bit of an issue,” Dave Bautista responded to being asked if he might not do Guardians of the Galaxy 3. “It’s a bitter sweet conversation. No. It’s a bitter, bitter conversation because I’m not really happy with what they’ve done with James Gunn. They are putting the movie off. It’s on hold indefinitely,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t know if I want to work for Disney. I’ve been very vocal about the way I feel. I’m not afraid to admit the way I feel.”
Sean Gunn, director James Gunn’s brother, did recently confirm Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is happening, so perhaps with what could be an extended break, Dave Bautista will have enough time to return to the WWE and then later return as Drax for Guardians of the Galaxy 3.
Of course with Guardians of the Galaxy 3 up in the air, Marvel could always kill off the Guardians characters in Avengers 4 or do away with them, which is something that even Dave Bautista insinuated could happen following James Gunn’s departure.
“It’s kind of a strange situation to be in now where we’ve lost our director for Guardians,” Dave Bautista recently explained. “Guardians 3 is really up in the air, and I don’t know what they’re going to do with it. It’s on permanent hold for now. And that may make a difference in what they do with our characters in Avengers 4. To be honest with you, right now I really don’t know.”
