GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY has added a second cast member. THR has learned that WWE star and mixed martial artist Dave Bautista has agreed to play Drax the Destroyer in the sci-fi comic book movie. Jason Momoa, Isaiah Mustafa, and Patrick Wade were all in the running for Drax but in the end Marvel chose Bautista. He joins the previously cast Chris Pratt, who is playing Peter Quill/Star-Lord.
Dave Bautista wrestled under the ring name “Batista” for almost a decade for WWE before leaving the company in 2010. Since then he’s tried his hand at MMA but he has also picked up some acting gigs like playing Brass Body in RZA’s THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS and is also in the upcoming RIDDICK.
Drax the Destroyer is a powerful green alien body that contains the spirit of human Arthur Douglas. Drax was created by Thanos’ father Mentor and his sole purpose in life is to kill Thanos. His powers include super human strength, stamina, durability, and senses. You can check out the character’s full biography here.
I’m pretty disappointed Jason Momoa didn’t get the part. Although professional wrestlers have had some success in films (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Hulk Hogan) most of them don’t have a very good track record on the big screen…or the direct-to-video screen either. But Dave Bautista definitely looks the part (the dude is MASSIVE) and it’s not like he needs acting chops on par with Christoph Waltz or Philip Seymour Hoffman for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.
There’s still three characters left to be cast from the Guardians team (giant tree-man Groot, assassin Gamora, and fan-favorite Rocket Raccoon) so be on the lookout for more updates on GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY in the next couple of months.
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