Dave Bautista says goodbye to Drax and Guardians of the Galaxy 3

Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel)

Dave Bautista has bid farewell to his Marvel character Drax the Destroyer after Guardians of the Galaxy 3 recently wrapped filming. 

The actor has been part of the MCU since Guardians of the Galaxy released in 2014, and has played the character in both Guardians movies and two Avengers films. He'll next appear in Thor: Love and Thunder

"Haven't found the words yet," Bautista wrote on Instagram, accompanying a picture of director James Gunn, Bautista, and his cast mates. "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. #guardiansofthegalaxy #vol3 #GoodbyeDrax #DreamChaser #DreamMachine"

This isn't the first time that Bautista has said the third movie will be his last time playing the character, with the actor writing on Twitter last year: "Drax isn't going anywhere. He just won't be played by this dude! By the time [Guardians 3] comes out I'll be 54 yrs old for god's sake! I'm expecting everything to start sagging any second now."

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 will close out the trilogy, but alongside the characters' extra appearance in Thor 4, there's also The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Both will come out before the third and final movie, though. 

"After over 100 days of shooting & over 3000 shots, this is the slate for the final shot of [Guardians 3], presented to me by the camera crew," Gunn recently wrote on Twitter to mark the end of filming on the threequel. "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 3 arrives May 5, 2023. In the meantime, check out our ultimate guide to Marvel Phase 4 for everything else the MCU has in store for us – and catch up on the Marvel universe so far on Disney Plus

Molly Edwards
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at 12DOVE, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English. 

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