Marvel Didn’t Ask Dave Bautista To Voice Drax In What If…? Says Star

According to Dave Bautista, Marvel did not ask him to reprise his role as Drax for the upcoming series What If…? on Disney+. Set to premiere on August 11th, What If…? explores the events, characters and stories of the MCU, reimagining how things could have unfolded when set on a different course from the cinematic universe. The concept of the show is based on a comic series of the same name. Director Brian Andrews also recently revealed that unused MCU storyboards will be adapted into the show.

Bautista is known for portraying the character Drax the Destroyer in the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy. As he continued to portray the character, Bautista was able to bring more life to the performance and gave some of the MCU’s greatest comedic moments in Avengers: Infinity War. Having stated that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would be his last time portraying the character, it is unclear whether Marvel will continue to feature the character in live-action films.

Related: Why Tom Holland Isn’t Returning As Spider-Man In What If…?

Bautista revealed on Twitter that Marvel did not ask him to reprise his role for the What If…? series, after being asked why he would not be voicing the character. This news came shortly after What if…? head writer, A.C. Bradley, revealed he scrapped an episode that predicted Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s plot.  Many, including Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, replied to the post on Twitter in disbelief. Check out the original tweet down below:

With his star power on the rise, it is surprising that Marvel is trying to write Bautista off as quickly as they appear to be. Over the past few years, Bautista has gone from a WWE superstar to leading man in several big name projects. With strong comedic timing and an intimidating on-screen presence, he played a large part in making the Guardians series as beloved by fans as it is. He is responsible for bringing a character that only a few comic fans knew about to the forefront of multiple projects, such as the television shows and video games developed around Marvel properties. Losing him will have a clear impact on the MCU, especially if they try to continue the Guardians of the Galaxy after Volume 3.

What If…? is clearly set to expand the MCU to where it has never gone before. Executive producer, Brad Winderbaum, has stated the story is as important to the MCU as other Marvel projects, meaning it may have big implications for the rest of Phase 4, as well as what comes after. Without Bautista, Guardians loses some of its heart and the MCU loses a great talent. It would be a very daunting task for another actor to try to portray the character in a way that connected with audiences as easily as Bautista did, however it appears Marvel may already be attempting to do just that.

More: Theory: MCU’s Multiverse Will Be Invaded By Ultron In Phase 4

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