Bautista's Drax Is Dead - But He Could Return As Marvel's Controversial 'Space Hulk'

Dave Bautista's journey from WWE wrestler to Drax the Destroyer is impressive. In fact, it's one of Hollywood's great underdog stories, which might sound weird in regard to this particular actor, considering that he was such a dominant force in the squared circle. However, Bautista was in dire financial straits when he was given the role of the Guardians of the Galaxy's dim-witted enforcer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and playing the once-obscure comic book character turned him into an overnight success story. Unfortunately for MCU fans, he isn't interested in portraying Drax again, but Space Hulk might be another story.

Space Hulk is one of the more controversial characters in the Marvel Universe, mainly because he's a practically unstoppable force who makes everyone else look pathetic in comparison. The big green brute has killed the Fantastic Four, Watchers, Deadpool, and other powerful fan favorites with relative ease, earning him the reputation in the eyes of some Marvel aficionados of a character who's too ridiculous to be taken seriously. At the same time, other fans love Space Hulk for this exact reason, and they'd probably love to see the massively overpowered creature brought to the silver screen.

Regardless of your opinion of Space Hulk, he has the potential to be an interesting addition to the MCU, and Bautista would be a perfect fit for the part. With that in mind, let's find out if there's actually a plausible way to bring this monster into the fold.

Most wrestlers who make the leap to Hollywood are content to star in action flicks, but Dave Bautista is the type of actor who likes trying new things. As a result, Bautista has proven his worth as an actor in everything from horror flicks like "Knock at the Cabin" to the heady sci-fi of "Dune." This mindset is also why he isn't interested in playing Drax the Destroyer again — but it could convince him to play Space Hulk.

While the former WWE star revealed that he's happy he got to play Drax, he's also glad that the character is in the rearview mirror. "It wasn't all pleasant. It was hard playing that role," Bautista told GQ. "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."

Despite this, Bautista is open to working with Marvel in the future. The actor has a positive relationship with the studio, so he'll always pick up the phone if they call. Furthermore, he's said that he'd consider playing a different character, especially if it's a villain, and Space Hulk could tickle that itch. He basically wants to follow the trajectory of Robert Downey Jr., who will return to the MCU as Victor Von Doom now that Tony Stark is dead, but only time will tell if the stars align.

In the Marvel Comics universe, Drax the Destroyer has a history of being killed and brought back to life. Once upon a time, he was a simple human real estate agent named Arthur Douglas who was murdered by Thanos, along with the rest of his family. As the Mad Titan spun further and further out of control, a being named Mentor enlisted Kronos to bring Douglas back to life, transforming him into the powerful warrior everyone knows as Drax.

The aforementioned death and resurrection wasn't an isolated incident. Years later, Drax was killed by the villainous Skrull Paibok in Marvel's "Annihilation" storyline, only to be resurrected as a slimmer and more intelligent hero. This gave the character a different look and proved that he's full of surprises, while also showing that there are fun and creative ways to explore resurrection storylines.

Technically, Drax isn't dead in the MCU, so he could return as the same hulking warrior that everyone knows and loves. However, if Dave Bautista is truly done with playing the character, then killing Drax and resurrecting him in a different form is an option that would make sense, as coming back from the dead has long been part of his legacy. Furthermore, the Drax character has a spiritual connection to Hulk that could inform such a transformation.

Drax the Destroyer is a bulldozer whose most effective abilities are his strength and intimidation. His creator, Jim Starlin, originally envisioned the character as an elemental force powerful enough to contend with Thanos, though he eventually turned Drax into an Incredible Hulk-like brute. As he told Comic Book Resources, "I brain-damaged him and made him into the Hulk, because Marvel didn't have a dumb green thing at the time, and I thought they should."

Given that Starlin essentially repurposed Drax to fill in for Bruce Banner's monstrous alter ego, the MCU could have some fun by transforming him into Space Hulk. The character, who debuted in Frank Tieri and Mark Texeira's "Space: Punisher" series, is one of the most formidable versions of the monster in the entire Multiverse, and it'd be interesting to see him let loose in the MCU. All we need is one filmmaker with the bold vision to kill off Drax and have him resurrected as a grotesque monster.

Furthermore, if Bautista is still open to working with Marvel, Space Hulk could give him a new role to sink his teeth into. If not, there are probably thousands of actors out there who'd relish the opportunity.