Dave Bautista Wants Drax Solo Movie, Even If He Doesn't Star

Rosalia Eylül 13, 2021

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Dave Bautista wants to see a Drax the Destroyer solo movie, if it doesn't feature him in the lead role. The wrestler-turned-actor debuted as the character in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, and has quickly become a fan favorite (much like all his other cosmic teammates). So far, he's reprised the role twice, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Avengers: Infinity War, with a supposed third and fourth time coming in the near future with Avengers 4 and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

As told in the first movie, Drax's family was among the unfortunate half of his planet killed by Thanos and his minions years before The Mad Titan wielded the power of all the Infinity Stones, leaving Drax the only survivor. Since then, he's been hell-bent on seeking revenge, but considering his current predicament after Thanos' galactic genocide in Infinity War, he'll just have to trust Tony Stark and the remaining Avengers to take down the villain in Avengers 4. That's at least until someone figures out how to resurrect Thanos' victims, of course.

Speaking with MTV International while doing the press rounds for his latest film, Final Score, Bautista talked about pushing for a solo Drax film, not necessarily because he wants a Marvel standalone for himself, but because he believes the character's backstory is worth telling. He explained:

"I think it's a beautiful story and I think it's been lost and overlooked a little bit. It's a beautiful and heartbreaking emotional thing to know where that love for his family and that heartbreak over his family being lost and murdered, where it comes from I think. I really pushed and fought for the Drax standalone film but I don't think it's ever going to happen. I really wish they would because I think there's a story to be told there and I think the fans would really love to see that story, even if it's not me portraying Drax, I just think it is an interesting story to tell."

While it's true that the character has a storied history in the comics, it just doesn't make much sense for Marvel Studios to devote a solo film to the big screen incarnation of the hero, considering that they deviated from how the character is portrayed in print. Rather than building him up as a badass warrior, movie Drax has been more a comic relief figure. Guardians of the Galaxy better explored his torment over losing his family, but in the last few films, that part of his arc was barely mentioned (as Bautista said himself). Additionally, if the studio was able to effectively tell Gamora's backstory (which is similar to Drax's), it's safe to say that there wouldn't be enough hook for his own solo film, at least in the context of his MCU characterization.

Right now, Drax and the rest of the Guardians' fate is currently in limbo, following James Gunn's firing. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - which was supposed to end the current iteration of the cosmic heroes - has been put on indefinite hold and remains without a director. The current circumstance also affects the bigger MCU, with Bautista recently insinuating that there might be some narrative changes in Avengers 4 to cater to the situation. And finally, since the threequel was expected to take Marvel Studios' May 2020 slot, there's going to be a shuffling in their film schedule in order to keep that prime summer spot occupied.