Dave Bautista is quitting Marvel and says leaving the role is a 'relief'

Dave Bautista has said he’s ‘relieved’ to be leaving behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe as his character Drax bows out in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 later this year.

The wrestler turned actor most recently appeared on our screens in Netflix’s Glass Onion, for which he received broad praise, and is set to star in M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin, which is released next month.

But Bautista is probably best for his role as Drax, a character he played for almost a decade - appearing for the first time in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

Now he’s set to say goodbye to Drax for good, Bautista has admitted to GQ that he’s quite happy to do so as he hopes to land some meatier, more dramatic roles.

He said: “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.”

Disney/MCU

Bautista has previously said he believed Marvel could have developed the character of Drax more and accused them of ‘dropping the ball’.

Speaking to Colider last year, he explained: “I really wished they would have invested more in Drax, personally. 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 slated out. But man, I think they really missed the ball on Drax. He has such a great backstory.”

REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo

Announcing his character’s end back in May, Bautista posted on Instagram to say: “Haven’t found the words yet. 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.”

However, he appears to be keen on seeking out juicer and heavier roles for himself, explaining to GQ that he didn’t ‘give a f**k’ about being a big movie star or ‘living a glamorous life’ but that he’d love to become a ‘better actor’ and earn the respect of his peers.

You can check out Drax’s final appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 in May and if you can’t wait that long to see Bautista in action, he’ll be on the big screen from February 3 in Knock at the Cabin.