Guardians of the Galaxy Director James Gunn Had to Fight Marvel Studios for This Casting, and He Was Right

After its release in 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy has become one of the most popular franchises [...]

By Joe Schmidt

After its release in 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy has become one of the most popular franchises from Marvel Studios thanks to the work of filmmaker James Gunn and the stellar cast, including Drax actor Dave Bautista. But Gunn admits he had to fight for the former WWE Superstar's casting in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, explaining that Kevin Feige even admitted that Gunn made the right choice after seeing his performance in the film. Bautista's Drax has become a fan-favorite hero in the MCU and will once again appear in upcoming films Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Thor: Love and Thunder.

Gunn participated in one of his many fan Q&A sessions on social media this week. During the session, a fan asked about one of his biggest fights behind the scenes.

Gunn previously praised Bautista's ability to use humor in his acting with a sense of honesty.

"Drax isn't funny because [Bautista] is 'being funny' - he's funny because Dave plays the character honestly, expertly, & with heart," Gunn wrote. "As over-the-top as Drax can sometimes be, Dave's groundedness allows us to love him & laugh with him."

Bautista might already be done with his duties filming Thor: Love and Thunder alongside his other Guardians co-stars, but he'll have to stay ready to film the next movie with Gunn and co. very soon.

The actor recently spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the future for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It sounds like Gunn will begin filming sometime toward the end of 2021.

"I believe it's okay to say that we will go into production late next year," said Bautista. "I saw a script early on when we were all on schedule and James Gunn was attached before everything went nutso. I believe because [Marvel's] whole calendar has changed [due to the pandemic shutdown and Guardians' production delays], that storylines have changed, and they won't intersect like originally planned. Obviously, we lost Chadwick [Boseman], so I don't know where that leaves Black Panther. I haven't seen a new script, is the short answer."

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is expected to premiere in theaters sometime in 2023.

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