Dave Bautista has been a vocal critic of Disney’s decision to fire James Gunn since the incident first happened. He hasn’t been shy about letting fans and media outlets know exactly how much he disapproves of Disney’s move and remains unafraid to talk about exiting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 altogether, if he’s dissatisfied by the final direction of the movie.
Today MovieWeb is reporting that Bautista is unwavering in considering walking away from the Walt Disney company altogether, despite potential consequences, both contractual and professional. In an interview on The Johnathan Ross Show , Dave Bautista went on to elaborate his current position on the entire situation.
“There’s a bit of an issue. It’s a bittersweet conversation—no—it’s a bitter-bitter conversation, because I’m not really happy with what they’ve done with James Gunn. They’re putting the movie off; it’s on hold indefinitely. To be honest with you, I don’t know if I want to work for Disney.”
Bautista clarified for those taken aback by his brazen approach to discussing the controversial situation, that he’s not “your typical Hollywood guy” after casually remarking “I’ve been very vocal about the way I feel. I’m not afraid to admit the way I feel.”
Dave Bautista has previously described himself as “nauseated” by the prospect of working for Disney after the Gunn firing. Late last August, he took aim at Mike Cernovich, the alt-right personality who initially posted old tweets from James Gunn, ultimately resulting in Gunn’s firing.
Hey @Disney ! Here’s your guy!! What an inspiration to humanity! https://t.co/vBW7s1ZtQx
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) August 24, 2018
In Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 , Bautista portrayed Drax the Destroyer. The character was generally beloved by the massive audience who flocked to theaters to see both films in the extremely profitable Marvel Cinematic Universe. Losing Bautista would certainly spell a serious hurdle for Disney as they try to market a third entry to the popular franchise.
In the upcoming fourth installment of The Avengers franchise, Bautista has reprised his role as Drax The Destroyer and the rest of the main Guardians of the Galaxy cast are also set to be present, according to reports. But Marvel fans are wondering if Avengers 4 might be the last time they see the Guardians in their current iteration.
Before being fired for decade-old tweets, which Gunn described as “jokes,” the filmmaker had already expressed that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would probably be the last time movie audiences would see the team of heroes as they currently are.
As it stands, the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise appears to be a trilogy which could potentially never get its proper third entry. This is a result which could seriously shake the foundation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s dedicated fanbase.