James Gunn: Drax is the Funniest Part of Guardians of the Galaxy 2

Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the most popular Marvel movies for many reasons, but arguably its biggest strength is its sense of humor. The constant laughs throughout the movie provided a perfect balance for the spectacular action and visuals. One of Guardians’ most pleasant surprises was the hilarious performance of Dave Bautista as the immensely powerful yet dim-witted, metaphorically-challenged Drax the Destroyer.

As a former WWE professional wrestler, Bautista was no stranger to boisterous over-acting as an oafish character. But his turn as Drax showed a surprising knack for scene-stealing comedic timing and nuance, in addition to displaying a heartfelt human side. It also helped that he drew from a sharp script by director James Gunn and Nicole Perlman. If you were a big fan of Bautista’s performance, Gunn has good news for you: Drax is poised to steal the show in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

The refreshingly transparent director of the Guardians franchise held a Q&A with fans on his Facebook page, addressing a number of topics related to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. One of the most-liked answers was to a question about the funniest thing Bautista did on the set of Guardians 2. He gave Bautista as big a vote of confidence as one can get:

”Everything is funny. He’s the funniest character in Vol 2. Bradley Cooper just saw the movie and talked about how he’s like [Zach Galifianakis] in The Hangover (in that he kills every line he has).”

Cooper, who voices Rocket Raccoon, certainly knows what he’s talking about when comparing Bautista and Galifianakis, the latter of whom has made a name for himself as one of the funnier actors in Hollywood in recent years. Considering the wealth of memorable comedic moments with Bautista as Drax in the first Guardians of the Galaxy, it should come as no surprise that he would again kill it in the buzzing sequel – along with a goofy Baby Groot.

One of the biggest sources of Drax’s hilarity in Guardians of the Galaxy, however, was his inability to understand metaphors or anything beyond literal statements. He appeared to be learning metaphors by the end of the movie when he referred to Ronan as a “puppet” for Thanos, so Vol. 2 may be going in a different direction with how Drax interprets the world.

But surely, fans wouldn’t complain if metaphors continued to go over Drax’s head – if his reflexes allowed it. The important thing is that Bautista showed great comedic acting chops in the first Guardians movie and will bring more of the same hilarity in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, regardless of how his character is written.

KEY RELEASE DATES
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 release date: May 5, 2017
Spider-Man: Homecoming release date: Jul 7, 2017
Thor: Ragnarok release date: Nov 3, 2017
Black Panther release date: Feb 16, 2018
The Avengers: Infinity War release date: May 4, 2018
Ant-Man & The Wasp release date: Jul 6, 2018
Captain Marvel release date: Mar 8, 2019
The Avengers 4 / Untitled Avengers Movie release date: May 3, 2019