The Guardians of the Galaxy franchise by James Gunn has been one of the more stable series of Kevin Feige’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. With three popular and commercially successful movies and a TV Holiday Special on Disney+, the ragtag group of disparate misfits has endured even the most turbulent waters.
But it’s not all been sunshine and roses for the cast. And least of all for Drax the Destroyer star Dave Bautista.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dave Bautista, also known for his work in Dune (2021) and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), spoke about the end of the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy with 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
“No, I wouldn’t say I miss him,” Bautista answered when asked about his role as Drax, which he has played since 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie. “What I do miss is the family environment. It’s hard knowing that we will never be on set together again.”
“Me, Chris [Pratt], Zoe [Saldaña], Pom [Klementieff], Karen [Gillan], Sean Gunn, James Gunn — it’s never going to happen again. It’s hard to live with that. I also never really had closure on that part of my career,” the former WWE professional wrestler explained.
“Even though it’s gone and in the past, I never got to say goodbye to everyone. I never got to go to the premiere and have fun with everybody and cry and say goodbye. I never got that.”
It’s no secret that Bautista has been critical of Marvel Studios’–and, to some degree, James Gunn’s–choices for the Drax character. Bautista frequently vocalized his disappointment with Drax’s overarching storyline and his need to be consistently shirtless.
The actor went on to say that his last day of shooting wasn’t actually for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022), which aired on Disney’s streaming service, Disney+, before the third installment dropped into movie theaters.
“I never really got to say goodbye to everyone. I got rushed off set to another film. I was then on another film, and I didn’t do press or make the premiere for Guardians 3,” Bautista divulged. “So there’s just a huge part of me that feels like there was no closure. I never really got to say goodbye to that character and that cast, and there’s always going to be some sadness involved when I start thinking about that.”
This is not the first time Bautista has been vocal about his time with the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. The actor weighed in on the recasting discourse circulating in 2021 following the release of Marvel’s animated show, What If…? While many of the MCU actors voiced their respective animated roles, a few—such as Tom Holland, Brie Larson, and Chris Evans—were noticeably absent.
Bautista was replaced by Fred Tatasciore in the anthology series, but the actor claims he was never asked to return and voice the role.
It’s not all over for the Guardians franchise, even though James Gunn confirmed that if a fourth installment was developed, it would not happen with the same group of characters nor with the same cast and creative. Gunn is, of course, over at DC Studios, launching the new DC Universe with co-CEO Peter Safran. The first feature film will be Gunn’s own Superman (2025).
When it comes to Gunn’s DCU, many fans expect the director, known for hiring the same actors across projects, to include some of these now-retired MCU stars. For Bautista, the actor has stated his dream was once to play Bane in a DC movie but has since pivoted to admitting an older Lex Luthor would be interesting to play.
Related: Disney’s New MCU Confirmed, Marvel Reveals Multiple Projects Will Be Abandoned
Judging by Gunn’s earlier comments on the DCU, it looks set to be an entirely different experience to the MCU.
“The thing I’ve always loved about DC Comics was that you had your mainstream comics that always ran, but they also had these tonally different comics like “Watchmen” and “The Dark Knight Returns” and “All-Star Superman”,” Gunn told Entertainment Weekly. “It was different from Marvel in that way.”
“That’s something that I really want to retain within the studio,” Gunn continued. “That every project is going to bring a different vision by the artists who are creating it.”
So it may be a no to more Guardians of the Galaxy for now as the actors move on, but the Nova series is officially in motion.
“So Nova‘s in development right now,” Head of Streaming, Television and Animation Brad Winderbaum told ComicBook recently. “But I will say we’re developing more than we make. This is part of the new Marvel.”
Winderbaum is referencing the new Marvel Spotlight banner and the new process the studio has adopted in developing more than they will produce, seemingly to craft the best movies and shows possible for its audience. He continued:
“But we should talk about this because at Marvel everything has a spotlight on it and everyone gets super excited and we love Nova. And we want to get it right. But it’s in development. We got a few things in development and we’re not going to go on a show until we are happy with a pilot. Happy with the bible. So it is in development right now.”
Guardians of the Galaxy in the MCU
Led by Chris Pratt’s affable Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord, and including others such as Bradley Cooper’s motormouth Rocket Raccoon, Karen Gillan’s Nebula, and Vin Diesel’s loveable tree, Groot, this gang of misfits brought a refreshing blend of heart, humor, and action to the MCU.
With over $2.4 billion earned across the trilogy and standout appearances in the Russo Brothers’ Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), the franchise left a huge mark on the MCU, and provided, with its latest chapter, a bright spark in the otherwise troubled Multiverse Saga.
Related: Marvel Is Being Forced to Scrap Troubled MCU Movie as New Information Comes To Light
The latest MCU movie, Shawn Levy’s Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), is currently playing in movie theaters, where it has become the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time.
How do you feel about Disney and Marvel leaving the Guardians of the Galaxy behind? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!