Dave Bautista’s MCU exit could be junked if Marvel brings him back as surprise ‘Avengers 5’ villain

Nobody was more ready for the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy to end than Dave Bautista. In the run-up to Vol. 3‘s release in May 2023, the WWE star-turned-Proper-Actor made no secret of the fact that he was desperate to leave the character of Drax the Destroyer behind.

That’s not to say Bautista hated his time working with either Marvel Studios or James Gunn, however, but the Glass Onion alum has been open about how Drax’s turn to an overtly comedic character across his appearances in the franchise left him disappointed and hungry for some more dramatic material. So it’s intriguing to hear that Bautista is thinking about returning to the superhero genre, this time as a villain.

“I still have a relationship with Marvel. I love the universe — the superhero universe, I love it. I’m a fan,” Bautista told io9. “I just would like the opportunity to do a bigger role, a different role. Maybe a deeper role. I’d love to have the opportunity to play, like an ominous villain in the superhero universe.”

Well, Dave, you’re in luck. It just so happens that, A) Marvel doesn’t really care about rehiring actors who have already been part of the MCU in new roles — just see Luke Cage‘s Mahershala Ali becoming Blade or Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Fantastic Four‘s Thing. And B) after the firing of Jonathan Majors, the MCU is in desperate need of a new villain to antagonize the Avengers. And Bautista could be the perfect person for the job…

Dave Bautista needs to play the MCU’s own version of Lex Luthor

It’s not a surprise to hear that Bautista is still banging the drum to play a supervillain, as he’s been after a couple of big-shot DC bad guys for several years now. First of all, he admitted that Gunn wasn’t interested in him playing Bane in the DCU, but then he followed that up with his admission that he’d love to portray Lex Luthor. That was way back in Jan. 2023, long before Nicholas Hoult eventually snapped up the coveted role of the criminal mastermind. Luckily for Bautista, though, the timing for him to play the MCU’s own answer to Lex could not be more perfect

When it comes to potential replacements for Kang as the big bad of the film formerly known as Avengers: The Kang Dynasty, fans often plump for characters like Doctor Doom or the Beyonder, but maybe the way to go is in introducing a grounded villain. The complicated multiversal plotline that surrounded Kang may well have contributed to audiences not taking to him all that much, so Avengers 5 could always go for a powerful Earthbound threat, to reestablish the stakes and a sense of scale, before Secret Wars goes full multiverse again. And bringing back Bautista to play said villain would definitely get people to pay attention.

But which villain in particular could he play? Here’s a left-field pick I haven’t heard before: Count Nefaria. Nefaria isn’t a cosmic tyrant or multiversal overlord, but the head of the international crime syndicate the Maggia. Like Kingpin and Lex Luthor, Nefaria hides his, well, nefarious deeds behind a public face of wealth and humanitarianism. In reality, though, he desires to destroy the Avengers and will stop at nothing to beat them. With his limitless funds, Nefaria transforms himself into a being of pure ionic energy, which means the entire Avengers team has to come together to defeat him.

Nefaria might not have the name recognition of Doom or Galactus, but he could just be the best fit for Avengers 5 due to where the franchise is right now, just as bringing Bautista back as a villain ties into the MCU’s growing need for stunt castings. You’d better hurry up though, Kevin Feige, as Gunn is bound to snap up his old buddy for the DCU one of these days and then the chances for the Drax actor to return to the MCU will be well and truly destroyed.