Dave Bautista is done with Drax… but not with Marvel?

The Guardians of the Galaxy actor takes advantage of the Dune 2 promo to dot the i's: no, he is not in conflict with Marvel. Nor with DC, for that matter.

Dave Bautista returns this week in the costume of Glossu Rabban Harkonnen in Dune: part twoof Denis Villeneuve. A director he adores, since he was the first to recognize his talent as an actor and to offer him a short but striking role, moving away from his usual muscular characters in Blade Runner 2049.

The ex-wrestler doesn't have his tongue in his pocket, and he has already explained several times that he was frustrated during his career by being offered characters that were tough but not very interesting to play. If Drax's role in Guardians of the Galaxy changed his life, he also clearly explained that he wanted say goodbye to him with the third part of the James Gunn saga, to diversify its cinematographic choices. What he has done in recent years by signing for eclectic projects, paranoid thrillers Knock at the Cabinby M. Night Shyamalan, satirical investigation Glass Onionby Rian Johnson.

Interviewed by IO9 on the occasion of the theatrical release of the sequel to Dune, he takes the opportunity to dot the i's regarding his collaboration with Marvel. Yes, he said goodbye to Drax last year, but no, he is not in conflict with the studio bosses, and he would happily agree to play another superheroic character for them.

These negative rumors arose following his support for James Gunnthe co-writer and director of Guardians, who was fired a few months from the trilogy between episodes 2 and 3 by Disney, when old offensive tweets resurfaced. At that time, Bautista had threatened not to film the end of the saga if Gunn was not rehired. When he returned for a final blockbuster, Dave quickly made it clear that this would be his final incarnation of Drax, saying it was becoming difficult to play this ultra-muscular super-villain in a credible manner. past 50 years.

“James Gunn changed my life, he repeats about the man who has since become the creative boss of the DCU, Marvel's competitor at Warner. The fact that he believed in me, that he supported me, it really changed everything for me. But my relationship with Denis (Villeneuve) is different, he supports me in another way. Our conversations are more intimate.

In fact, I had never worked with a filmmaker before Denis who told me that I was a solid actor. He told me this about our first collaboration. I held back, because I was aware (due to being seen as a wrestler and not an actor), I didn't have confidence in myself. He came to see me to say: 'I feel like you're holding yourself back from acting, even though you're a solid actor, my friend. Just follow your instinct.' So I started diving deep into this character, and I managed to find him. And not only did he like it, but he wanted to support my performance so much that he was planning to show it to see other people's reactions to it. When you have this kind of experience, which I haven't had since, with a filmmaker of this caliber, it says everything. It’s validation.”

M. Night Shyamalan cast Dave Bautista after seeing him in Blade Runner 2049

More specifically about his experience at Marvel, Dave Bautista then specifies:

“When I said I was done, I was really talking about my journey with Drax. I still have ties to Marvel. I saw Kevin Feige again recently, and Lou (D'Esposito) just a fortnight ago. They know that if they have a role to offer me, I will be up for it. I love this superheroic universe. I'm a fan of all that. Whether it's Marvel or DC, you answer the phone call, that's for sure. And if they offer me a role that makes sense, I'll dive into it. I just wish I had the opportunity to play a bigger character, or a very different one. Maybe a deeper role? I would love to play an omniscient villain in this universe, for example. Downright ! I will never be done (with Marvel). My journey with Drax is over.”

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