Dave Bautista Says He May Not Return to Guardians of the Galaxy After Director James Gunn's Firing
The Guardians of the Galaxy may have to continue without Drax.
Dave Bautista said on The Jonathan Ross Show that he is unsure whether he wants to return to the franchise in the wake of Walt Disney Studios decision to fire director James Gunn.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know if I want to work for Disney,” Bautista said.
He explained, “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.”
Bautista added, “I’ve been very vocal about the way I feel. I’m not afraid to admit the way I feel … I don’t think I’m your typical Hollywood guy.”
Disney fired Gunn from the third film in July after conservative personalities and Twitter users dug up Gunn’s old tweets joking about pedophilia and rape.
“The offensive attitudes and statements discovered on James’ Twitter feed are indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values, and we have severed our business relationship with him,” Walt Disney Company chairman Alan Horn said in a statement on July 20.
Bautista has been public about his feelings regarding the controversy. In August, he vented his frustrations on Twitter.
“I will do what Im legally obligated to do but @Guardians without @JamesGunn is not what I signed up for. GOTG w/o @JamesGunn just isn’t GOTG. Its also pretty nauseating to work for someone who’d empower a smear campaign by fascists #cybernazis,” he wrote. “That’s just how I feel.”
I will do what Im legally obligated to do but @Guardians without @JamesGunn is not what I signed up for. GOTG w/o @JamesGunn just isn’t GOTG. Its also pretty nauseating to work for someone who’d empower a smear campaign by fascists #cybernazis . That’s just how I feel https://t.co/Ym4FwruVDu
— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) August 5, 2018
He told ShortList that he would only come back to the franchise if Gunn’s script was used.
“Where I’m at right now is that if [Marvel] don’t use that script, then I’m going to ask them to release me from my contract, cut me out or recast me,” Bautista said.
RELATED: Kurt Russell Defends Guardians of the Galaxy Director James Gunn After Controversial Firing
Recalling his anger after Gunn was fired to ShortList, “I spoke to Chris Pratt the day after it happened, and he’s a bit religious, so he wanted time to pray and figure it out, but I was more like: F— this. This is bull—-. James is one of the kindest, most decent people I’ve met.”
Guardians of the Galaxy cast members — including Pratt, Zoë Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, and Bautista — wrote an open letter defending Gunn in July.
A post shared by chris pratt (@prattprattpratt) on Jul 30, 2018 at 9:41am PDT
“My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative,” Gunn said in a statement. “I have regretted them for many years since — not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.”
He wrote, “Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now, beyond offering my sincere and heartfelt regret, is to be the best human being I can be: accepting, understanding, committed to equality, and far more thoughtful about my public statements and my obligations to our public discourse. To everyone inside my industry and beyond, I again offer my deepest apologies. Love to all.”
