Dave Bautista officially concluded his time playing Drax The Destroyer following the conclusion of filming the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and as recent quotes from him indicate, he’s relieved to be moving on from the role. The actor has noted that he doesn’t want Drax to be his legacy, suggesting he wants to be remembered for his other notable roles. Time will tell what the future holds for Bautista, but if Drax did end up being his "legacy," it’s a pretty damn good one given he’s one of the MCU’s greatest characters.
There are a multitude of performers who have worked and are currently working in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there is only one Drax. Dave Bautista’s performance is one of a kind, and there are a few reasons why we don’t talk about it more often. Let’s get into those reasons below, starting with an analysis of why Bautista isn’t frequently lauded for his work in the MCU.
What Dave Bautista Does As Drax Is Criminally Underrated
Marvel tries for humor a lot in its projects, and in my own personal opinion, there are more misses than hits. But it’s hard to deliver a joke in a superhero movie that hits as hard as some of the things we’ve seen from Dave Bautista as Drax. The lines, like “You must be so embarrassed!” from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, are written by other people (James Gunn has written all of the Guardians films, while Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely handled the character in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame), but the delivery is all on Bautista. That line specifically doesn’t work without his raucous laughter and pointing, and it wouldn’t sound the same being delivered by anyone else in Hollywood.
Let’s also remember the gut-bustlingly hilarious “perfectly still” scene with the bag of chips in Infinity War. You can shoot that take several times, and give plenty of direction, but at the end of the day, it’s on Dave Bautista to make that happen. There’s a fine art of doing that scene in a way that’s deathly serious to the point of hilarity. Too far in any direction and that joke doesn’t land the way it needs to, and comes off as awkward. It’s for this reason that Bautista’s work as Drax is criminally underrated – perhaps even by the actor himself.
Drax the Destroyer comes off as an oafish character, but we’ve seen that Dave Bautista is not a one-to-one replication of his Kylosian character. A lot of work goes into bringing him to life, and I’d argue more work than what maybe some other actors bring to their own roles (without naming names). He’s not the "star" of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but he is one of the more entertaining heroes of the brand, and Bautista doesn't get enough credit for that.
Drax Manages To Be An Entertaining Character Despite Having Little Story Dedicated To Him
We don’t talk enough about how talented Dave Bautista has to be to play Drax, but we also don’t talk about how memorable his scenes are when so little of the MCU story is tied to him. Sure, Drax has his "origins" in Ronan murdering his family and his quest for revenge, but since then he’s effectively just been along for the ride. He’s had presence in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the Avengers movies, and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, but nothing all that impactful on the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large.
It’s certainly less story than what Marvel Comics plotted out for the original Drax The Destroyer when the character was created. The MCU tweaked Drax’s primary quest for revenge against Thanos as one against Ronan – which drastically reduced the character’s significance in the larger story being constructed by the franchise. It's hard to disagree with the decision given the vast number of characters in the canon and the responsibility of Marvel to tell the best story possible in a more restrictive medium. That doesn’t change the fact that Drax got the short end of the stick in this adaptation.
That being said, had Drax been planned to be more notable from the start, maybe Dave Bautista wouldn’t have gotten the chance to bring the character to life. It may be easy to forget after his roles in Dune and Glass Onion, but Bautista was still very much more known to the world as a professional wrestler than he ever was as an actor when he was first cast in Guardians of the Galaxy. Things have been on the upswing for his acting career since taking the role, however, but it’s hard to credit that to Marvel over Bautista’s own performances and what he’s done on screen.
Dave Bautista’s Role As Drax Has Elevated His Status In Hollywood
Not many too many Marvel supporting actors past and present can boast that since taking their roles they’ve appeared in movies like Blade Runner 2049, Spectre, Glass Onion, and Dune. Dave Bautista is taking on smaller roles in big movies, and slowly getting more to do in each project. FOr Spectre, for example, he was a hired muscle with only limited lines. Fast forward to Glass Onion, and he’s an important part of the story with multiple lines and memorable moments.
It should also be pointed out that while it didn’t get a ton of critical acclaim, Dave Bautista managed to get a co-leading credit in the studio comedy Stuber – and the Rotten Tomatoes score on that film is far higher in the audience score department than with critics, showing an appreciation from movie-goers for what Bautista is doing. It’s a solid flick for anyone who hasn’t watched, especially if they’re in the same camp as I am that Bautista’s stock in Hollywood is still on the rise.
Despite his more minor presence in the MCU, Dave Bautista has netted more notable and significant Hollywood roles after he became Drax – the party spring-boarding him to great things. It may not end up being the only legacy he’ll celebrate as an actor, but is at the very least a large stepping stone that helped him reach the next level.
Regardless of how we'll ultimately look back at Drax, all this talk about Dave Bautista has me jazzed for his final performance as the character in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – tempting me to revisit his other performances with my Disney+ subscription (you can see how all of the films compare side-by-side with other MCU blockbusters in our Marvel Movie Ranking ). After all, I think Drax will go down as one of the MCU’s top performances of all time, and others might too if they watch him with a closer eye.
