Dave Bautista recently revealed that he believes Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be the last time we see him in the role of Drax, and the actor has now elaborated on why he feels that will be the case.
As you can see below, the pro wrestler turned actor appears to be pretty convinced that he'll be too old to continue playing Drax after the threequel is released, and seems confident that the character will live on without him.
Writer and director James Gunn, however, has a different take.
"There’s no Drax for me without you, buddy!" the filmmaker said. "You ARE the MCU’s Drax the Destroyer and, as far as I’m concerned, could never be replaced. And you have the right to do whatever you want with your acting choices!"
Marvel Studios isn't in the business of recasting actors unless they really have to, and there's really no reason Bautista can't continue to play an older, grizzled version of Drax in the MCU (if he's worried about his physique, there are several different ways that could be disguised, though he still in phenomenal shape).
We certainly hope that Bautista will stick around as Drax, but that may depend on what happens in Vol. 3...