Dave Bautista Clarifies His Past Threats To Quit ‘Guardians’ After James Gunn Firing: “It Wasn’t About Me”

It’s been almost a year since the firing of James Gunn from “Guardians of the Galaxy 3.” After some controversial tweets resurfaced, Gunn, the writer/director of the original ‘Guardians’ film, and its sequel, found himself caught up in some social media troubles. The director’s very own Drax the Destroyer, Dave Bautista, was quick to announce his thoughts on the matter; he was “not okay” with the filmmaker being fired.

READ MORE: Dave Bautista On ‘Guardians’ Without James Gunn: “Not What I Signed Up For”

But this was just the start of the Destroyer’s wrath. Bautista soon made another statement on the matter, claiming moving forward on the new film without Gunn was “not what [he] signed up for.” The actor/wrestler considered quitting the franchise altogether, despite the fact that he was still contractually obligated to reprise the role in the third film of Marvel’s cosmic corner. He then politely asked for a role in his friend’s next superhero picture, Warner Bros. “The Suicide Squad.” But now that Gunn has been rehired, Bautista has changed his tone, it seems.

READ MORE: Dave Bautista Feels Marvel Studios/Disney Are “Decent Enough” To Let Him Out Of His ‘Guardians’ Contract If Gunn Wasn’t Re-Hired

“No, it wasn’t that I was going to jump ship and do ‘Suicide Squad,’” said the actor (via ET). “I was more at the point where I was like, ‘Fire me. I don’t care. You’re going to hear what I have to say. And this is the way I feel and I think you made a bad call and I don’t care if you fire me because I feel this way. This is me being honest and me sticking up for my friend who was wronged.'”

He added, “So that was it. It wasn’t about me — I’m not threatening to go do ‘Suicide Squad,’ but I was just saying, ‘If things aren’t here, I’m just going to leave. I don’t want to be a part of this.’”

READ MORE: Producer Says James Gunn’s “Total Reboot” Of ‘Suicide Squad’ Is The Director’s “Priority” & Will Hopefully End “Absurd” DC/Marvel Rivalry

Well, it seems that Disney heard what Dave Bautista had to say. Perhaps, his renewed wrestling gimmick was just a metaphor for how much he cared about his friend.

READ MORE: John Cena Reportedly In Talks To Join James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’

It was also recently announced that Michael Rooker would be re-teaming with the filmmaker on the ‘SS’ sequel – which hits theaters August 6, 2021 – so, Gunn will be surrounding himself with friends in both upcoming superhero projects. James Gunn is still slated to write and direct the sequel to “Suicide Squad,” but – between new characters and re-hirings – the history of that production is arguably even more complicated than explaining how the movie rights to these character’s work. ‘Guardians 3’ is expected to be released sometime in 2022.