Guardians of the Galaxy star Dave Bautista has, shall we say, a complicated relationship with Marvel Studios these days, suggesting that this newly shared photo of the actor at Disney California Adventure might actually be an old image, but regardless of whatever bad blood is in the air right now, surely we can all take a moment to appreciate one cozy little pic.
The Drax actor is pictured outside the Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! ride, and as you can see, he’s not alone, sharing a hug with his MCU co-star Groot, or at least someone dressed as him. And in the warmth of his tree friend’s embrace, Bautista’s smile says more than words ever could.
While Drax and Groot both met sad ends this year in Avengers: Infinity War, Bautista has already let it slip that we see more of the Guardians in next year’s Avengers: Endgame. Beyond that, however, the future of the team in general and Drax in particular feels uncertain.
As well as causing the gang’s next standalone outing to be put on hold, the controversial firing of James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 looks to have soured the relationship between Disney and Bautista, with the star claiming a few months ago that he’s not sure if he wants to keep working for the company. The actor even took to Twitter earlier this year to express an interest in joining the Gunn-penned Suicide Squad 2, and while he may not have been entirely serious about getting involved in the upcoming DCEU flick, the underlying message was pretty clear.
But regardless of where Bautista and the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise go from here, we’ll apparently be seeing Drax and his peers at least one more time when Avengers: Endgame hits theaters on April 26th, 2019.
