The Marvel Cinematic Universe faces an eventual problem: the aging of its actors so closely associated with the characters they play onscreen. However, Dave Bautista, who's played alien criminal-turned-superhero Drax in four Marvel films, doesn't feel that it's a problem at all.
"I don’t think it’s a problem, because the Marvel library is so extensive," Bautista told Vulture. "They’re gonna have material to draw from for well after I’m dead and gone."
"I know Disney has purchased Fox, and the X-Men have a whole extensive life ahead of them," Bautista said. "That’s going to be a whole new universe. Their library is just too extensive. There’s so much there that they’ll never run out of material or actors or superheroes."
Marvel Studios has already solved the aging issue for some of its characters by organically writing them out of the MCU. Robert Downey Jr. kicked off the MCU franchise in 2008's Iron Man, and the character's journey ended when Tony Stark heroically sacrificed himself in 2019's Avengers: Endgame when he used the Infinity Gauntlet to defeat Thanos' armies.
Similarly, Steve Rogers, played by Chris Evans, began his superhero journey in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger. Steve's days as Cap came to an end in Endgame after he traveled through time to return the Infinity Stones to their proper chronological place. When finished, though, rather than come back to the present, he remained in his own time to live out the life he never got to have as Captain America.
Other characters, though, like Chris Hemsworth's ageless God of Thunder Thor, or Tom Holland's high school age Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, will ultimately find themselves at a crossroads when the actors become too old to play their respective heroes. While there's plenty of other source material for Marvel Studios to draw from for future projects, the studio might not be ready to totally move past their classic heroes. But Bautista doesn't even think that will present a problem.
"When they’re past that, people will look back and just reboot stuff," Bautista said.
Bautista will return to play Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It's widely believed this will be Bautista's final time playing the character, and Bautista has said he's ready to leave the role behind.
Written and directed by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn and Elizabeth Debicki. The film arrives in theaters May 5, 2023.
Source: Vulture