Marvel Studios recently shared an incredible cast list for What If...? with some big names and plenty of surprises. There were some noteworthy omissions, however, with some expected (Robert Downey Jr.) and others not (Dave Bautista). Asked on Twitter by a fan why he's not lending his voice to the animated series, the actor confirmed he was never actually asked!
As you can see, that prompted a surprised reaction from Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, and it definitely seems a little odd that Bautista was never approached.
While he has spoken openly about not being happy with Disney after they (briefly) fired Gunn from Vol. 3, those recent comments about not liking where Drax's story has gone in the MCU likely came after dialogue for the show was recorded. Plus, the actor is coming back for the next Guardians movie, so it's not as if Bautista has parted ways with the studio!
Having seen the first three episodes of What If...?, we can tell you that Drax does have a minor role - and speaking lines - in one of them.
In related news, the show's Head Writer, A.C. Bradley, recently revealed in a roundtable interview with Kakuchopurei.com that she pitched an episode that was turned down due to being too similar to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. "It took me a couple of days to break it. I was very excited about it. I went to Bryan [Andrews, director] and was like, here we go, this is what happens, do you think Kevin Feige would approve? He went, oh, yeah, Kevin would love that, that’s half the plot of Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3."
"I was like, 'You’re kidding,' and he went, 'Nope, good job, you guessed it,'" she added. "So, that one I can’t do because the amazing James Gunn is already going to do it."
If this unknown concept was considered for a show like What If...?, something tells us Gunn has some crazy ideas for the threequel we definitely haven't been able to predict yet!