Dave Bautista Confirms He's Leaving the MCU After 'Guardians of the Galaxy' 3'

The final Guardians movie will premiere in May.

Dave Bautista has reiterated his belief that he's about to play Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be his last performance as the character. Drax was Bautista's breakthrough role, showcasing his remarkable deadpan comedic performance in stark contrast to his hulking physique - which he believes is now becoming untenable as he ages.

He has appeared as Drax a total of six times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but has now decided to take on the role. On his GQ profile, the actor stated that he wants to get rid of the makeup process and focus on playing more dramatic roles in the future, and that he loves Drax but doesn't want to be defined by him:

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 Draw to be my legacy - it’s a silly performance, and I want to do more dramatic stuff.

Bautista has previously said he's about the same age The occasions started to catch up to him, plus the extremely tedious makeup process required for the role. To that end, the actor asked him to wear a shirt during his appearance on EPCOT's Disney World roller coaster "Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind," which caught fans' attention at the time. Drax in a shirt further supports this theory Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, even in the Vol 3 trailer:

“I’m going to be 54 years old by the time Guardians 3 comes out, and the shirtless thing is getting harder and harder for me… the journey has come full circle and I’m just ready to kind of step aside and wrap it up.”

Bautista also responded to reports on Twitter of his possible departure in 2021, confirming that he intends to have someone new take over the role.

Drax isn’t going anywhere. He just won’t be played by this dude! ud83eudd37ud83cudffb‍u2642ufe0fby the time G3 comes out I’ll be 54 yrs old for gods sake! ud83dude31 im expecting everything to start sagging any second now. ud83dude02 https://t.co/eRJR6ZPtE2— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) May 8, 2021

Bautista's desire to play more dramatic roles makes sense. Often cited as the best professional wrestler-turned-actor -- a career path many have tried without success -- he's had success in "Dune," "Blade Runner 2049," "Hotel Artemis," and Played critically acclaimed roles in films such as Spectre. After a match at WrestleMania 35, he officially retired from professional wrestling, ending a 20-year career.

Bautista is currently available in Rian Johnson's Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, which is streaming on Netflix.