Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 concluded James Gunn's trilogy and, if Marvel Studios should choose to retire the team, the stories of these characters as well. The door was left open for the "Legendary" Star-Lord to return, though, and Rocket now leads a new iteration of the Guardians.
As for Drax, he chose to remain on Knowhere with Nebula to raise the children created by The High Evolutionary. While he could quite easily return to action, Dave Bautista has repeatedly made it clear he's done playing the character.
Talking to io9 about his role in Dune: Part 2, the pro wrestler turned actor reiterated that his time as the Destroyer has ended but made it clear he remains open to working with Marvel Studios again. Or James Gunn's DC Studios should the filmmaker come calling.
"No, no. When I said that I was done, I was really just done with my journey as Drax," he explains. "I still have a relationship with Marvel. I’ve seen Kevin Feige again, Lou [D’Esposito] as recently as two weeks ago. And they know that I would be up for a role. I love the universe - the superhero universe, I love it. I’m a fan."
"So Marvel or DC, if they call, I would answer the phone. And if the role makes sense, I’d be all over it. I just would like the opportunity to do a bigger role, a different role. Maybe a deeper role," Bautista continued. "I’d love to have the opportunity to play, like an ominous villain in the superhero universe. Yeah. But never. I’m not done with it. But my journey with Drax is over."
Last year, the Guardians of the Galaxy star admitted that he's seeking roles which challenge him, something Drax didn't necessarily do.
"[Working on the James Gunn-directed franchise] 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."
"Honestly, I could give a f***k [about being a movie star]. I don’t live a great big glamorous life. I live here in Tampa. I don’t care about the spotlight, I don’t care about fame. I just want to be a better actor. I want respect from my peers...It’s about the experience, about knowing that I accomplished something."
Marvel Studios has yet to announce plans for The Legendary Star-Lord or any other Guardians-related plans. It's likely at least some of the characters will return in the next Avengers movies, but nothing has been confirmed on that front, unfortunately.