Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn revealed why Drax the Destroyer isn't part human in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Gunn tweeted that he removed the earthbound aspects of Drax's comic book origin story to avoid making "a space opera with a dozen earthlings who just coincidentally found themselves in space." The filmmaker further explained that he wanted Guardians of the Galaxy to feature "a group of aliens & orphans from different planets who banded together." Because of this, characters like Drax were made fully alien, leaving Peter Quill/Star-Lord as the only human in the MCU blockbuster's core line-up.

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Drax the Destroyer's first comic book appearance in 1973's The Invincible Iron Man #55 established that Drax was once Arthur Douglas, an ordinary earthling. Douglas and his family were killed by Thanos, and he was subsequently resurrected in an alien body by cosmic forces to battle the Mad Titan and avenge his family. The Guardians of the Galaxy movie removed Drax's connection to Arthur Douglas and Earth, although Thanos is still indirectly responsible for his family's murder.

Actor Dave Bautista, who plays Drax, previously expressed frustration at the way the character's history with Thanos was handled in later MCU installments. "That whole Drax, Thanos history seemed to get swept under the rug," he tweeted. "Always wondered why but every reason I could come up with just makes me shake my fucking head. It is what it is." Bautista also confessed to being "a little disappointed" that Drax wasn't the one to kill Thanos in Avengers: Endgame.

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Despite his misgivings over Drax's arc, Bautista will nevertheless don The Destroyer's gray-green body paint and red markings for both Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. The former wrestler has confirmed that Guardians 3 will mark his final MCU appearance, saying that "when James [Gunn] is done, I'm done." Bautista added that his advancing age is also a factor in his decision to retire from the role, noting that "the shirtless thing is getting harder and harder" for him to pull off.

Drax the Destroyer will next appear in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special this December on Disney+.

Source: Twitter