Now that both WandaVision and Loki have completely cracked open the MCU's multiverse going into Phase 4 and beyond, fans are feverishly anticipating the world-breaking crossover chaos coming to Marvel's What If...? series. For all the major returning franchise stars, however, Guardians of the Galaxy fave Dave Bautista has not been part of the What If...? cast listings. Which wouldn't be that big of a deal had his character Drax the Destroyer not popped up in the anthology series' first trailer. And it now sounds like Bautista is just as miffed about it as Marvel fans are.
Considering Dave Bautista has portrayed Drax in not only both of James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy features (as well as the upcoming third one), but also in Avengers: Endgame and Infinity War - not to mention Disney+'s animated holiday special - it only seems proper that he would be the one lending his gruff tones to What If...? whenever Drax is on screen. But here's the rather brusque way Bautista explained the situation when a Twitter fan asked why he wasn't the one reprising Drax:
If there's one thing that Dave Bautista and Drax have in common, it's the utilization of brevity when getting a point across. (Also: head shape.) The former WWE superstar set up his response as if there were multiple factors behind him having to step aside and let another actor take over voicing Drax for What If...?, but no, the answer is pretty plain and simple just as he presented it. Nobody actually talked to him about doing it, and so he's not in it. It's technically the same reason why everybody reading this also isn't voicing Drax in What If...?
Obviously, that update isn't going to please a lot of Marvel fans, although it would be perfectly normal for just about any other project beyond What If...? For instance, Dave Bautista doesn't voice Drax in the weekly Guardians of the Galaxy animated series, and it's really only in the rarest of cases when film actors do indeed reprise their big screen roles for animated spinoffs. Of course, What If...? is on a different level, since it's fully encased within MCU canon, so there are connective expectations involved. But it's not like Bautista is the only absentee actor here. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, and several others aren't reprising their roles, either.
And for all that commenters below Dave Bautista's comment are slamming Disney and Marvel for leaving the actor out, it's presumed that there are contractual elements at play that fans have no insight into. It's even possible that Bautista himself isn't fully aware of when and where he's meant to portray Drax for other media, considering how curt his tone seemed in the response, though I'm sure his legal team is all over that. Though to that end, it's curious that even Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn spoke up in disbelief with a simple "What?" (Not that Bautista hasn't had some other savage reactions to Marvel-related news in recent weeks.)
While there's obviously disappointment tied into hearing other actors voicing roles that have been cemented so well by other Hollywood stars, it doesn't seem to be putting a big dent in how critics are viewing Disney+'s What If...? Check out the trailer below to see all the detail-flipping stories heading our way soon!
What If...? is set to debut its nine-episode first season on Disney+ on Wednesday, August 11. And while waiting, check out all the other new shows that are hitting TV and streaming soon with our 2021 Fall TV schedule.
