Marvel’s Dave Bautista Reflects on Leaving Behind Drax and Guardians of the Galaxy

It has been over a year since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 made its way into theaters, taking fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe team on an emotional thrill ride. While the film did not end with any of the Guardians characters meeting their demises, it did appear to close the book on a lot of their onscreen stories, including Dave Bautista as Drax. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bautista shared his latest feelings about his departure from the Guardians franchise, and argued that he did not really get any “closure” with the years of time that he spent in the role.

“No, I wouldn’t say I miss him,” Bautista explained. “What I do miss is the family environment. It’s hard knowing that we will never be on set together again. Me, Chris, Zoe, Pom, Karen, Sean Gunn, James Gunn — it’s never going to happen again. It’s hard to live with that. I also never really had closure on that part of my career. Even though it’s gone and in the past, I never got to say goodbye to everyone. I never got to go to the premiere and have fun with everybody and cry and say goodbye. I never got that.” 

“My last night on Guardians was actually [The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special],” Bautista continued. “We shot Guardians 3 and the Holiday Special concurrently. So our last night filming was here in Hollywood, and we wrapped at 3 or 4 in the morning. And then I literally had to run to the hotel, get my bags, jump on a jet and fly to Philadelphia to start Knock at the Cabin two days later. So I never really got to say goodbye to everyone. I got rushed off set to another film. I was then on another film, and I didn’t do press or make the premiere for Guardians 3. So there’s just a huge part of me that feels like there was no closure. I never really got to say goodbye to that character and that cast, and there’s always going to be some sadness involved when I start thinking about that.”

Will There Be a Guardians of the Galaxy 4?

After the culmination of Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 last year, fans have naturally begun to wonder if a fourth film could potentially be in the cards. It is safe to assume that franchise helmer James Gunn will not be directing that project, especially with his new job co-running DC Studios, but he has said for years that he did not have plans to return for a fourth film.

“I absolutely never said I wouldn’t do a Vol 2,” Gunn told a fan in a 2020 Q&A. “As I planned to do a trilogy from the beginning if the first one worked. I have no plans to do a 4th.”