Guardians of the Galaxy: James Gunn Reveals Interesting Fact About Dave Bautista’s Drax Costume

Much like Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista is another member of the Guardians of the […]

July 5, 2020, 4:14pm

Much like Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillan, Dave Bautista is another member of the Guardians of the Galaxy cast that has to go through a substantial amount of time in the makeup trailer to get ready for his Marvel role. A new meme has been making the rounds online this weekend as it points out the fact Bautista was forced to go through five hours of makeup while getting ready for his role as Drax the Destroyer in the initial Guardians feature. Thankfully for Bautista and the makeup team alike, the process was able to be shortened from five hours to an hour and a half for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

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The question remains — is the meme accurate? According to Guardians helmer James Gunn, it’s very accurate. In fact, the director shared the meme himself Sunday afternoon and offered his own insight into the scenario. “The company that did the work on Vol 2, Legacy, created a sort of Drax “shirt” for his arms and upper body,” the filmmaker says.

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I posted this fact on my story and got hundreds of people asking me how? The application team was mostly the same@on both films, so it wasn’t that. The company that did the work on Vol 2, Legacy, created a sort of Drax “shirt” for his arms and upper body. In addition to being quicker it was much better – although the aesthetic design was cool from the beginning, the separate pieces in the first film would swell with Dave’s sweat and start to crinkle so that his whole body looked like a Sharpei. This required a lot of CG help and cleanup we didn’t need in Vol 2. In the second film the shirt is so incredibly thin and form fitting we actually see way more of Dave’s body and muscles. Another fun fact: a cool scene I cut from the first film shows that Drax’s tattoos are not about his conquests, but about the memories he has with his family: his mother and father in his childhood, his marriage to his wife, his daughter being born. These things are all in the specific design of the tattoos/scarification. #gotg #marvel #guardiansofthegalaxy

A post shared by James Gunn (@jamesgunn) on Jul 5, 2020 at 10:20am PDT

“In addition to being quicker it was much better – although the aesthetic design was cool from the beginning, the separate pieces in the first film would swell with Dave’s sweat and start to crinkle so that his whole body looked like a Sharpei,” Gunn adds. “This required a lot of CG help and cleanup we didn’t need in Vol 2. In the second film the shirt is so incredibly thin and form fitting we actually see way more of Dave’s body and muscles.”

Furthermore, the director even added a tidbit about the meaning behind all of Drax’s tattoos. Though most believe they have to deal with the assassin’s conquests, a scene Gunn removed from the film explained the fact they’re tributes to his wife and daughter.

Both Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 are now streaming on Disney+.

Who do you hope to see as the big bad in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Think it over and let us know your thoughts either in the comments or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!