Is Drax Going to Die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Here’s What We Know

Phase 4 of Marvel Cinematic Universe came to a conclusion in 2022, and now in 2023, we can expect that Phase 5 will soon kick off. In February, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will mark the beginning of Phase 5, and one of the most anticipated movies of the Phase is James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is set to be released this May.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be sort of an Endgame for Guardians since it was announced as the final Guardians movie and the last Marvel movie James Gunn worked on. One of the things that the fans are expecting is that this movie will give Guardians a satisfying conclusion in the MCU, and one thing that James Gunn has promised is that the ending will be very emotional, which arose the question that one of the members of the titular team could die. Could it be Drax the Destroyer?

We can’t be 100% sure that Drax is going to die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but it’s definitely possible. Out of all the Guardians, Drax and Rocket are two characters for which it is expected that they could die. Drax actor Dave Bautista recently confirmed that Volume 3 will be his final MCU movie, but it’s not known what ending will his character get. Still, considering that his whole story in the franchise was built on revenge for his deceased wife and daughter, it would actually make sense for him to die so that he could rejoin them after his path is finished, so to say.

Is Volume 3 Dave Bautista’s Final MCU Movie?

Dave Bautista joined Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2014 when the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie was released. Drax was described as a humorous character with a tragic past, as his wife Ovette and daughter Kamaria were killed by Ronan the Accuser prior to the events of the movie.

Bautista reprised his role in 2017’s sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, and 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. He also appeared last year in Thor: Love and Thunder and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. This year, in Volume 3, Bautista will say farewell to the role of Drax, as he recently confirmed.

“I’m so grateful for Drax. I love him. But there’s a relief [that it’s over]. It wasn’t all pleasant. It was hard playing that role. 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.” — Dave Bautista for GQ

Which Guardian(s) will die in Volume 3?

Although Volume 3 is the final Guardians movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the fans are hoping that some members of this team will return again in the future through other movies, just like they did in Thor: Love and Thunder. However, James Gunn confirmed on his Instagram if that would be the case, it will not be “all of them”, teasing that this movie will mark a definitive end for at least one Guardian.

Of course that Gunn did not reveal which Guardian will not live to see the ending of the final Guardians movie, but that did not stop the fans from making theories and assumptions. According to the fans, the Guardian that is most likely to die is Rocket, and after him probably Drax. Peter Quill/Star-Lord’s death is highly unlikely, and it’s kinda 50/50 for Gamora and Groot.

While some fans believe that Gamora could die, some believe that she will have her happy ending with Star-Lord, especially because she was already killed off once in the MCU so it would be kinda too much to do it again, and we could say the same thing for Groot. Of course, we still have Mantis, Nebula, and Kraglin. There are a lot of Guardians, and it’s really hard to make a solid theory on who will live to tell the tale.

We all still remember Yondu’s death at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It was one of the most emotional and memorable scenes in the entire franchise, so we have no doubt that whoever dies in the third movie, Gunn will surely present us with a whole waterfall of emotions.

Where will Dave Bautista star after he splits with Drax?

Dave Bautista was a professional wrestler for 20 years between 1999 and 2019, and he began his acting career in 2016. Although professional wrestlers aren’t known for doing dramatic roles and they’re more comfortable with action movies, Bautista isn’t like that. While Dwayne Johnson and John Cena are usually doing action and fun movies, Bautista can laud himself because he worked with great directors like Dennis Villeneuve.

Bautista had a small role in Villeneuve’s neo-noir Blade Runner 2049, and he played the villain Glossu Rabban, the brutish nephew of Baron Harkonnen, in Villeneuve’s Dune. He will reprise the role this year in Dune: Part Two as well. Last year Bautista starred in Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and in 2023 he’s got one more movie, an apocalyptic psychological horror Knock at the Cabin, co-written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

So, when we look at it, we have no worries that Bautista will land a lot of great roles and movies in the future after he says goodbye to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will mark the seventh and final portrayal of Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer. Written and directed by James Gunn, Volume 3 is set to be released on May 5, 2023.