Guardians of the Galaxy: James Gunn Apologizes for Drax Never Playing Saxophone

In the Marvel comic source material, Drax doesn’t only destroy those that oppose him; he also happens to be a gifted saxophone player. Throughout the years, both Drax and his human alter ego Arthur Douglas have intertwined their cosmic rampages with a fair amount of saxophoning, and James Gunn is sorry for not including such a moment within his Guardians of the Galaxy film trilogy. Tuesday afternoon, one fan aired their disappointment at the filmmaker, asking him why Drax never played the instrument. Gunn wasted no time in apologizing for the oversight.

“I know. [Dave Bautista] has been taking sax lessons for ten years all to no avail,”  Gunn joked on Twitter. “Maybe he can star in the Stan Getz biopic. Sorry, Dave!”

I know. @DaveBautista has been taking sax lessons for ten years all to no avail. Maybe he can star in the Stan Getz biopic. Sorry, Dave! https://t.co/hNVAOBG9nx

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 17, 2023

Will Drax ever return?

For those Guardians of the Galaxy fans hoping to see Drax the Destroyer play saxophone, you may be out of luck. Bautista has confirmed Vol. 3 as his last time playing the beloved cosmic star.

“I’m so grateful for Drax. I love him,” Bautista told GQ earlier this year. “But there’s a relief [that it’s over]. It wasn’t all pleasant. It was hard playing that role. The makeup process was beating me down. And I just don’t know if I want Drax to be my legacy—it’s a silly performance, and I want to do more dramatic stuff.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Cast

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 synopsis reads, “Still reeling from the loss of Gamora, Peter Quill must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. If the mission is not completely successful, it could possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.”

James Gunn wrote and directed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The movie stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldaña as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, with Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot and Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Chukwudi Iwuji as The High Evolutionary, Will Poulter as Adam Warlock, and Maria Bakalova as the voice of Cosmo.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now playing in movie theaters.