Dave Bautista has had an enviable career. Nicknamed "The Animal", Bautista initially built a name for himself as a pro wrestler before he transitioned into acting where he excelled as a part of several blockbuster movies, including the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Unfortunately, after nearly a decade of being a part of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the 53-year-old is now saying goodbye to arguably his most popular role.

Bautista initially potrayed Drax in 2014 with the release of the first Guardians of the Galaxy film. He has since gone on to portray the character in two Avengers movies, Thor: Love and Thunder, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (a television special), as well as two more installments of Guardians of the Galaxy, the second of which will debut as intended on May 5. 

However, all things end, and Bautista has now confirmed he is leaving the role behind. The wrestler-turned-actor confirmed his departure during a recently published GQ profile where he expressed his relief with leaving the character behind. While Drax the Destroyer was his breakout role as an actor, he stated that he doesn’t want it to be his legacy, especially since he has been portraying the character for almost a decade.

In his words, "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."

However, for fans of the silly yet lovable character, Bautista also posted a tweet confirming the naive but deadly Kylosian isn’t going anywhere. His tweet implied that character will be recast and a new actor hired in his stead if the character will feature in future MCU films.

Drax isn’t going anywhere. He just won’t be played by this dude! 🤷🏻‍♂️by the time G3 comes out I’ll be 54 yrs old for gods sake! 😱 im expecting everything to start sagging any second now. 😂 https://t.co/eRJR6ZPtE2

— Dave Bautista (@DaveBautista) May 8, 2021

This isn't the first time the Dune actor has talked about leaving the role of Drax. However, this is arguably the first time he clarified that he's done with the character. It's unclear how Bautista will exit the role, but some fans speculate he'll die at some point. This speculation is not without basis, given that the film’s trailer is emotional and James Gunn, the film’s director, stated in the past that not all the Guardians will make it out alive.

Since his debut as Drax, Bautista has gone on to show his acting chops in numerous films and series, including See, Riddick, Blade Runner 2049, Army of the Dead, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and Dune. Apart from Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, he will also star in the M. Night Shyamalan psychological horror film Knock at the Cabin, as well as the second installment of the Denis Villeneuve science fiction film Dune, all of which are set to debut sometime this year.

By the way, Bautista recently revealed his desire to star in Netflix’s upcoming Gears of War film adaptation.