‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Concept Art Reveals How ‘Aquaman’s Jason Momoa Would Have Looked as Drax

Marvel Studios' Head of Visual Development Charlie Wen shared a look Sunday at Guardians of the Galaxy concept art visualizing Game of Thrones and future Aquaman star Jason Momoa as Drax.

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Jason Momoa was almost Drax (before his #aquaman days;)! He also had a great audition that deftly displayed his toughness and double blades handles. But in short, Bautista was definitely the right choice— he had a perfect blend of natural quirk and braun😜. * This was an early sketch to explore the prospect of Momoa taking on the character. * The comicbook version was extremely close to another character that I designed called Kratos for #godofwar , so...I tried to steer Drax clear of it. @justinjsweet did the super cool final concept design for Drax! * * * * * #cinema #MarvelStudios #guardiansofthegalaxy #drax #JasonMomoa #charliewen #bts #moviemaking #filmmaking #filmcasting #conceptart #casting #marvel #castingcall #actor #characterdesign @prideofgypsies

A post shared by Charlie Wen (@imcharliewen) on Jan 6, 2019 at 12:58pm PST

Momoa "had a great audition that deftly displayed his toughness and double blades handles," Wen wrote in an Instagram post. "But in short, [Dave] Bautista was definitely the right choice — he had a perfect blend of natural quirk and braun [sic]."

"Dave is perfect for that role, for Drax. It didn't really fit in my time because I've done so many things where I don't say much and I'm colored up and I have my shirt off again," Momoa explained to Zap2It in 2014.

"I made a conscious choice to turn down some movies that were action-based to direct Road to Paloma so people could see that side…. It's not that it's not a good role, it just wasn't the right thing. I was on Stargate: Atlantis for four years playing a similar character called Ronon, who was an alien who didn't say much and grunted. I've been there and done that, whether people have seen it or not. You want to stretch."

The Momoa-led standalone Aquaman has since become the highest-grossing entry in Warner Bros.' shared DC Extended Universe, topping previous record holder Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with a still-growing $940 million-plus box office.

Bautista reprises Drax in Avengers: Endgame, out April 26, and is expected to return to the role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The star once threatened to quit the film, still without a director, if Marvel Studios doesn't use the script penned by ousted Guardians writer-director James Gunn, who was fired by Disney after controversial tweets published by the filmmaker resurfaced last summer.