Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 star Dave Bautista, who portrays Drax the Destroyer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, said goodbye to the character as filming in the third film officially wrapped.
"Haven’t found the words yet," Bautista wrote on Instagram. "It ended so suddenly and I was on to my next film before I could process it all. End of a journey that changed my life." Bautista included #GoodbyeDrax in the post, which featured a photo of himself and co-stars Sean Gunn, Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff and director James Gunn.
Bautista has portrayed Drax in four MCU films, starting with 2014's Guardians of the Galaxyand appearing again in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The actor announced in May 2021 that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3will likely be his last appearance as Drax. Bautista will appear as the character in two more projects before Vol. 3's release: Thor: Love and Thunder, directed by Taika Waititi and set to premiere in theaters May 6, and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which is planned to air on Disney+ in December.
When Bautista announced that his time as Drax the Destroyer was coming to an end, he explained that not only was "the shirtless thing is getting harder," but also that "the journey has come full circle and I'm just ready to kind of step aside and wrap it up." Bautista has also been open about his disappointment and frustration in Marvel's "mishandling" of Drax. "I really wished they would have invested more in Drax, personally," Bautista said in a previous interview.
Written and directed by Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 officially wrapped filming. Gunn recently shared an image from his final day of shooting, along with a heartfelt reflection on the last 10 years of working on the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. "After over 100 days of shooting & over 3000 shots, this is the slate for the final shot of GotG Vol. 3, presented to me by the camera crew," he wrote. "It was an easy shot of Rocket seated, 1st with Sean Gunn, & then nothing there, & took everything in me not to break down sobbing on the spot."
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will see the return of Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Klementieff as Mantis, Gillan as Nebula, Zoe Saldaña as Gamora, Bradley Cooper as Rocket and Vin Diesel as Groot.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 releases in theaters on May 5, 2023.
Source: Instagram