#James Gunn Would Love to Make an R-Rated Barbarian Drax Movie

Whether or not James Gunn will ever return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe again following Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 remains to be seen. However, the filmmaker has expressed some interest in an R-rated spin-off involving none other than Drax. While the prospect of seeing Dave Bautista cut loose in this way may seem appealing, this movie is probably nothing more than a pipe dream, for various reasons.

James Gunn is currently promoting the release of The Suicide Squad, his new DC movie which hits theaters later this week. During a recent interview, he was asked about the prospect of Marvel eventually doing R-rated movies. Gunn, in response, said the following.

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“I think they will, I think they will, I’m almost sure they will. Not ‘Guardians’ though, because ‘Guardians’ are family movies, so it’s different. People are like, ‘Finally, they let you do R rating. What would ‘Guardians’ be like if that was R rated?’ I’m like, ‘But it’s not.'”

While the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, as a whole, may not be suited for that path, James Gunn does feel that Drax, on his own, could be a good fit. Speaking further, Gunn explained he would love to do “Barbarian Drax” as an R-rated movie. Though it does seem more hypothetical than anything that’s actually on the table right now.

“I could go off and make a Drax movie that’s R-rated, that I would love to do, like barbarian Drax. But the ‘Guardians’ movies are fables, and I don’t think of them like that. I don’t write them like that. It’s a different type of movie, and you can have some gore and some scary darkness in there and things like that, which is good, but it’s not the rock and roll of ‘Suicide Squad.'”

Dave Bautista has been playing Drax in the MCU since the first Guardians of the Galaxy hit theaters in 2014. The wrestler-turned-actor has stated in the past that he is done with the character after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. At the same time, Bautista has expressed his desire to lead a comic book movie and Marvel didn’t want to make a Drax movie. He even lobbied Warner Bros. to let him play Bane. Bautista also explained that it is becoming more difficult to have his shirt off on film, making it challenging to play Drax.

Meanwhile, the MCU has a jam-packed slate over the next few years. Unless James Gunn and Dave Bautista wanted to make a Disney+ show, this doesn’t seem like something that could happen any time soon. And Disney+ isn’t exactly the home for R-rated content anyhow. As for what Marvel movies might get the R-rated treatment? Deadpool 3 is in development currently and that feels like the safest bet. The upcoming Blade reboot has already been ruled out as a possibility. Even though it won’t be R-rated, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is expected to begin filming later this year. This news comes to us via IndieWire.

Topics: Guardians of the Galaxy 3, Guardians of the Galaxy