Currently the Marvel Cinematic Universe has two major superhero teams. The Avengers are responsible for Earth’s defense while the Guardians of the Galaxy are off traversing the rest of the universe. There have been rumblings of the two groups eventually crossing over, but so far Marvel has stayed silent about whether that’s in the future or not. Fans would obviously love to see them join forces, and so would Dave Bautista, known around the geek community as the Guardians’ tough, metaphor-deaf member, Drax the Destroyer.
When asked by Screen Rant whether he would be interesting in partaking in a team-up between the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, Bautista responded with a resounding yes, noting how much of a superhero fan he is. As he put it:
It’s rumors right now, but, you know, I pray every day…and night, and afternoon, and after you walk out the door I’ll go pray and say, "Please let Drax be in ‘The Avengers.’ " [Laughter] Yeah, I hope it’ll happen.
Bautista has expressed enthusiasm before about seeing the Avengers and Guardians together, but as he mentioned, there’s no certainly that will happen. Director James Gunn has said before that he considers the Guardians as being "separate" from the Avengers, pointing out that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes only have to worry about protecting Earth while the Guardians have a whole galaxy to save. Obviously it’s impossible for the Guardians of the Galaxy movies to be entirely secluded from the MCU given the presence of Thanos and the Infinity Stones. Gunn’s priority is developing the cosmic universe, and in his eyes, that means Star-Lord, Drax, Gamora, Groot, and Rocket need to get into their own antics.
However, with the way the Avengers: Infinity War movies are being hyped, it wouldn’t be unprecedented for the Guardians to show up to assist the Avengers and Earth’s other heroes in battling Thanos, though perhaps not until Part II. They’ve seen firsthand what the Power Stone is capable of, and frankly, any help will be welcomed with taking down the Mad Titan.
While not every Phase Three script has been written, Marvel outlines their grand plans for the franchise years ahead of time, so Kevin Feige and the rest of the creative team likely know whether the Avengers will cross paths with the Guardians. They’re also well aware that fans like Bautista want a team up to happen, so the question is whether that will fit the story the MCU is telling.
While the waiting game continues on an Avengers/Guardians crossover, moviegoers can look forward to seeing the teams individually in the coming years. Most of The Avengers will appear next year in Captain America: Civil War, and will return to the forefront for 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War Part I. Meanwhile, out in space, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will arrive on May 5, 2017.
