‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Keyframe Reveals Unused Drax and Thanos Battle Scene

In Guardians Of The Galaxy, Drax the Destroyer is driven to join the team with the hopes of defeating Ronan and his benefactor, the Mad Titan known as Thanos. And he finally got his chance to square off with the big bad in Avengers: Infinity War.

One attack was very brief and resulted in Drax being turned into stone, while in next fight he was but one of many heroes attempting to stop Thanos from acquiring the Infinity Stones. But a piece of concept art from Rodney Fuentebella shows that the two almost had a showdown in one of the earliest versions of the script.

While many fans likely would have liked to see Drax get his revenge on Thanos, it’s probably for the best the two didn’t square off in a one-on-one fight. As the Mad Titan proved, he could beat the Hulk in close combat; what chance would Drax stand?

And though Drax was wiped out of existence alongside most of his Guardians teammate, actor Dave Bautista has since confirmed that, of course, the characters will return in Avengers 4.

“We definitely see more Guardians in the upcoming Avengers, which we’ve already shot,” Bautista said on Good Morning Britain. “Oddly enough, I guess I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but I was already saying before Avengers 3 was released that I’d already filmed 4, and I was signed up for Guardians 3. I’ve shot scenes for it, so I must come back somehow,” he said with a laugh.

“It’s comforting but at the same time I felt a sense of guilt because I don’t know if I was supposed to say anything, and nobody told me not to say anything,” Bautista added.

However, since Disney fired James Gunn from directing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Bautista has been critical of the company. Given the large amount of additional photography done on Avengers 4, Bautista is not ruling out that the movie could change what happens to his character.

“It’s kind of a strange situation to be in now where we’ve lost our director for Guardians,” Bautista told Digital Spy. “Guardians 3 is really up in the air and I don’t know what they’re going to do with it.

“It’s on permanent hold for now, and that may make a difference in what they do with our characters in Avengers 4. To be honest with you, right now I really don’t know.”

We’ll find out what happens to Drax the Destroyer, and if he gets his revenge on Thanos, when Avengers 4 premieres in theaters on May 3, 2019.