Marvel “dropped the ball" with Drax the Destroyer, says Dave Bautista


James Gunn's take on the Guardians of the Galaxy isn't exactly comic accurate. While Gunn’s fantastic comedic talent effortlessly blends the team into a fantastically hilarious universe, some fans haven't been happy. Out of every character, there is one that has been changed the most: Drax the Destroyer.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is very comedic, but that does mean that characters have been altered to play into that genre. Drax the Destroyer is introduced as a formidable threat that’s obsessed with avenging the death of his family at the hands of Thanos. Drax is still hilarious in the first Guardians movie, but as time went on the character became more of a punchline. For example, the now-beloved “Why is Gamora?” line has cemented the MCU character as quite the idiot.

Drax the Destroyer has become a punchline

In an interview with Collider, Drax actor Dave Bautista revealed that he's unhappy with the direction the character took. While portraying the character is “special" to Bautista, the actor has revealed that he thinks Marvel dropped the ball.

“That role changed the trajectory of my life. It’s always going to be special to me,” Bautista said. “Now that I’m four films in…I really wished they would have invested more in Drax, personally. Because I think Drax has more of a story to tell. I think Drax has a really interesting backstory which they dropped the ball on. That’s no dig on Marvel. They had their slate, I know what they’re focused on, that’s what they have slated out. But man, I think they really missed the ball on Drax.
“He has such a great backstory. Selfishly, as a performer, that would have given me the opportunity to show different sides of Drax, emotionally. And physically as well. Because, if you notice, Drax, although he looks like a badass, you look at him and he looks terrifying, but Drax gets his ass kicked more than any other Marvel character.
“The whole “Destroyer” thing they just threw that out the window…people just fell so in love with the comedic side of Drax they tapped into that, then they tapped into it more, then they really dug a hole into it. But we missed a huge boat on that character and I don’t think it’ll ever come back around. But I’m really just looking forward to finishing out this whole journey.”

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Is this going to change in the future?

Dave Bautista has two more times to portray Drax the Destroyer before his MCU exit. Firstly, the Guardians will all be back for an upcoming Disney+ Holiday Special. Finally, the actor will return to the role for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Drax's new characterisation as a comedic pillar is now an integral part of the Guardians movies. With their next appearance being a jovial Holiday Special, Drax will likely remain a lovable buffoon until the character's final MCU scene. However, perhaps Drax the Destroyer could do a bit more destroying in Volume 3.

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