Writer-director James Gunn received an outpouring of support from his peers and colleagues following his firing from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 last July, with no one more outspoken in his defense than Drax the Destroyer actor Dave Bautista. Now that Gunn has been rehired for the film, Bautista opened up about his support for Gunn.

Speaking to Variety, Bautista discussed Gunn's return and his unwavering support of the filmmaker. "I just spoke my mind and was honest about the way I felt about it," Bautista said. "I thought he was given a raw deal. I thought it was a bad call, bad decision. I wanted to bring it home. These guys are like family to me and I wanted to be involved in the third one. I wanted to use James’ script because it’s a beautiful script. Moving forward without James was a real personal issue with me."

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Bautista's steadfast support of Gunn following his dismissal led the actor to proclaim that he would quit if Gunn's script was not used for the film, something he feels Marvel and Disney would have granted him had they decided to move on from Gunn. "I am contractually obligated [to do the third movie], but I think that Marvel and Disney -- if I had really stood my ground and said, ‘I don’t want to do this without James’ -- I think that they are decent enough that they would’ve let me out of my contract,” he shared.

Written and directed by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 does not currently have a release date. The film is reportedly scheduled to begin production in February 2021.