James Gunn responds to Dave Bautista saying he'll retire as Drax after Guardians of the Galaxy 3

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"There's no Drax for me without you, buddy!"

Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy 2
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel)

James Gunn has responded to Dave Bautista saying he won't play Drax after Guardians of the Galaxy 3.

Bautista wrote on Twitter: "Drax isn't going anywhere. He just won't be played by this dude! by the time G3 comes out I'll be 54 yrs old for gods sake! im expecting everything to start sagging any second now."

Gunn then retweeted him, adding: "There's no Drax for me without you, buddy! You ARE the MCU's Drax the Destroyer and, as far as I'm concerned, could never be replaced. And you have the right to do whatever you want with your acting choices!"

Bautista has played Drax in the Gunn directed Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, as well as Avengers: Infinity War and its sequel Endgame. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 is slated for a 2023 release.

The Drax actor has recently talked about why he chose a starring role in Zack Snyder's upcoming Netflix movie Army of the Dead over a part in Gunn's The Suicide Squad. "I had The Suicide Squad where I got to work with my boy again, even though it's a smaller role, and then I had Army of the Dead on which I get to work with Zack, I get to build a relationship with Netflix, I get a lead role in a great film – and I get paid a lot more money," Bautista explained. 

He added that Gunn was supportive of his choice: "He said, 'I completely get it. I'm proud of you that you're even in this position. I'm proud that I had something to do with you being in this position where you have to make these hard decisions.'"

Gunn has also recently said he's "planning on [Guardians 3] to be [his] last," but did answer a fan asking about a potential fourth film on Twitter with: "Me? Never say never but I see Vol 3 as the end of the Guardians' story I started telling back with Vol 1."

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 arrives May 5, 2023, and the next Marvel project to hit our screens will be Loki, landing June 9. In the meantime, check out how to watch Marvel movies in order to get up to speed, and find the best Disney Plus prices and deals.

Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.