Dave Bautista leaving the MCU - here are his best moments as Drax of Guardians of the Galaxy

Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer has been a longtime fan favourite in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with seven different appearances across projects over the last decade. However, the actor confirmed that Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 would be his final appearance as the character.

Bautista, who recently starred in “Glass Onion” is looking to focus on other projects outside of Marvel and has a big year ahead. The actor will be getting his most sizable speaking role to date in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Knock at the Cabin” and an expanded role in Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” sequel. Roles which will no doubt bring more opportunities to expand his acting abilities which he has been open about wanting to do.

He recently spoke about his exit telling GQ magazine: “I’m so grateful for Drax. I love him. But there’s a relief that it’s over, It wasn’t all pleasant. It was hard playing that role. The makeup process was beating me down. And I just don’t know if I want Drax to be my legacy — it’s a silly performance, and I want to do more dramatic stuff.”

Back in 2021, Bautista told Collider that Marvel “dropped the ball” in terms of doing Drax justice on the big screen. He said: “I really wished they would have invested more in Drax, personally.

He added: “Because I think Drax has more of a story to tell. I think Drax has a really interesting backstory, which they dropped the ball on. That’s no dig on Marvel. They had their slate, I know what they’re focused on, that’s what they have [it] slated out. But man, I think they really missed the ball on Drax. He has such a great backstory.”

It’s true that Drax became a source of comedic value with some fantastic moments in the MCU. With that in mind, PeopleWorld takes a look back at Bautista’s best moments as the iconic character.

“I Have Singlehandedly Vanquished The Beast!”

A favourite, and possibly most chaotic, moment for Drax comes in one of the opening scenes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The scene follows the prologue in which Ego planted himself on Earth, and we find the Guardians are protecting some Anulax Batteries from an interdimensional creature for the Sovereign.

Drax decides to take matters into his own hands to save the day and jumps into the creature’s mouth to attack it from the inside, a decision that baffles the other Guardians.

This leads Gamora to take down the creature, and Drax makes his way off the creature thinking he took the win and says: “single handedly vanquished the beast.”

Thinking He’s Invisible

This is a fan favourite, and no doubt had people in stitches in the cinema. The moment comes after an emotional moment between Quill and Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War. The couple notice Drax standing in the room, completely still, eating a bag of zarg-nuts. Drax thinks that he can stand so still, while slowly moving his hand to eat his zarg-nuts, that he is imperceptible to the eye.

However, they quickly tell him that they can see him before Mantis comes in and immediately says, “Hi, Drax,” and he finally realises he’s not as invisible as he thinks he is.

“Why Is Gamora?”

Another great moment comes in In Avengers: Infinity War, after the Guardians of the Galaxy ambush Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange when they arrive on Titan.

Star-Lord grabs Spidey and holds a Quad Blaster to his head. He says, “Where is Gamora?,” assuming the trio to be working for Thanos. Iron Man quips back, “I’ll do you one better. Who is Gamora?” Drax comes in with, “I’ll do you one better. Why is Gamora?” as Iron Man holds his blaster to his head.

“This Is A Man.”

In Avengers: Infinity War, after Thor bumps into the Benatar’s windshield, the Guardians bring him on board and find that the God’s not dead. Quill says, “How the hell is this dude still alive?” To which Drax says, “He is not a dude. You’re a dude. This is a man. A handsome, muscular man.”