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There was a minor furor when the second episode of Marvel’s What If…? aired on Disney Plus, and it had nothing to do with the content. Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa leading the Guardians of the Galaxy went down a storm, bolstered by some wild deviations from the established narrative, including the disconcertingly friendly Thanos and giddy fanboy Korath the Pursuer.
Almost everyone to lend their vocal talents to “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?” was reprising their role from live-action, with Dave Bautista a notable exception. When the actor was asked why he wasn’t playing Drax in the show, he responded by saying that nobody from Marvel Studios had asked him to, something that even shocked his Guardians director James Gunn.
Voice acting legend Fred Tatasciore ended up as Drax instead, and in a new interview with ComicBookMovie he was asked about the Bautista situation, where his response was as diplomatic as you’d expect.
“Yeah, not to speak out of school, but quite frankly, I had no idea what happened. It sounds like there must have been a snafu somewhere. I don’t know. I wasn’t sure how it went down. I loved what Dave Bautista did, too. I just loved it, but was honored and don’t want to make any waves with anybody.”
Bautista has gained a reputation as someone who isn’t afraid of speaking their mind whatever the situation, and so far he’s the only major MCU alumni to have called out Marvel’s What If…? for not even bothering to ask him if he wanted to be involved. With over 50 of his peers getting the nod, including some very minor names, it’s strange that such a fan favorite wasn’t extended an invitation.