Actor Dave Bautista has made it no secret that his last time portraying Drax in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise will be in the upcoming third entry in the film series. After wrapping on the film, Bautista took to social media to share a special message to the character.
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In an Instagram post made earlier this week, Bautista shared the same photo that director James Gunn did, of the majority of the Guardians cast together following the wrapping of the film. In his post, Bautista said that he hasn’t found the words to express himself yet after finishing filming and having to immediately head out onto another film set.
However, Bautista did note that it was the “end of a journey” that changed his life, before saying goodbye to the character via hashtags.
“Haven’t found the words yet,” said Bautista in the post. “It ended so suddenly and I was on to my next film before I could process it all. End of a journey that changed my life.”
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While fans may not be ready to see the last of Drax, Bautista has made it very clear that he’s finished playing the character when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 premieres next year. In a tweet last year, Bautista said that while the character of Drax may not be going anywhere, Bautista just wouldn’t play him anymore, due to his age.
“Drax isn’t going anywhere,” Bautista said on Twitter. “He just won’t be played by this dude! By the time [Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3] comes out I’ll be 54 years old for gods sake! Face screaming in fear I’m expecting everything to start sagging any second now.”
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is once again written and directed by Gunn. It features the return of Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Sean Gunn, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel as they reprise their respective roles as Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Kraglin, Nebula, Mantis, Rocket, and Groot. Joining them are MCU newcomers Will Poulter and Chukwudi Iwuji, with Poulter confirmed to be playing the role of Adam Warlock. Before the space-traveling team makes their return to the big screen, their Disney+ holiday special is expected to be released later this year.
