Dave Bautista Discusses Drax's Role In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

01/25/2017 01:25 pm EST

The talk of Drax the Destroyer having a beefed up role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 by comparison to the original 2014 film in which he debuted. Director James Gunn has praised him, among others, and now the actor is dishing on his role in Vol. 2.

Dave Bautista, who has recently played a part in James Bond films and will star in the upcoming Blade Runner 2049 alongside Ryan Gosling, has his hands full this go round with Guardians. Drax was last seen setting his sights on Thanos, the man truly responsible for his family's death, but stole the show in the first trailers when he capped both with hilarious moments.

"It's an extended version of the first film, for the Drax character," Bautista said. "There's just a lot more…most people's first perception of Drax would be he's just a big, muscly brute, and he's just going to go in and be an all-action character. But he's more funny, driven … there's a lot more of that. He gets closer and more caring with the other Guardians, and they become more of a solid family in this one. If I had to put a tag on this second film I would say 'family,' that's kind of the theme."

For the sequel, the entire Guardians cast returns, but they are joined by a new iconic actor whose role is still quite blurry. Whether or not Kurt Russell's Ego the Living Planet, father to Peter Quill, will be friend or foe is to be seen. Either way, Bautista was hyped about working with Russell.

"Yeah it's so funny, I didn't want to hit him with all of the fanboy questions right off the bat, but as soon as I got comfortable with him I did. He's great and super down to the earth, he's a very social guy and doesn't like to separate himself from the younger cast, he's got a lot of great stories, he's very good looking (laughing) … he's a very interesting guy!

The first thing I asked him about was Big Trouble in Little China, I just wanted to know more about that, and what he thought about The Rock being recast as Jack Burton and he said, 'Ah, I don't care.' And I said 'Really?!' I was really upset by that because to me, The Rock is not Jack Burton, like Chris Pratt would make a much better Jack Burton.

I take that stuff very personally, because I'm a fan boy first, I am a geek at heart. So, he just didn't care (inaudible) 'Oh I'm sure he'll do a great job'"… and then of course I asked Escape from New York questions, and we had a lot of good conversations about that."

Set to the backdrop of 'Awesome Mixtape #2,' Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team's adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill's true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes' aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.

MORE: 5 Worlds We Want to Visit in Avengers: Infinity War / Josh Brolin Ready To Transform Into Thanos For Avengers Infinity War / Who Is Peter Dinklage Playing In Avengers: Infinity War? / Is Peter Dinklage Playing MODOK In Avengers: Infinity War? / Zoe Saldana Confirms Gamora For Avengers: Infinity War / Chris Hemsworth Says He Still Hasn't Seen The Avengers: Infinity War Script / Avengers: Infinity War To Film in Scotland / Avengers: Infinity War Is Casting Extras For Alien Roles / Avengers: Infinity War Sets Production Start Date / Avengers: Infinity War Directors Tease Mysterious New Prop Video

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is written and directed by James Gunn (Slither). The film marks the return of the original Guardians, including Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) as Peter Quill/Star-Lord; Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora; Dave Bautista (Spectre) as Drax; Vin Diesel (Furious 7) as the voice of Groot; Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) as the voice of Rocket; Michael Rooker (Jumper) as Yondu; Karen Gillan (The Big Short) as Nebula; and Sean Gunn (Gilmore Girls) as Kraglin. New cast members include Pom Klementieff (Oldboy), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, Everest), Chris Sullivan (The Knick, The Drop) and Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight, The Thing).

(via Collider)

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.