Dave Bautista is back on our screens this week with Knock at the Cabin, but later this summer, we'll all be saying goodbye to Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3.
The MCU threequel will mark the end of this particular group of Guardians, although the fact that Bautista won't be playing Drax again hasn't yet sunk in. Shortly after wrapping on the movie, he had to start filming Knock at the Cabin rather than dwell on the Guardians finale.
"I never really got the chance to say goodbye to everyone. There was never really that moment to kind of let it sit in, and that realisation of that closure. It hasn't really hit me yet," Bautista told Digital Spy.
"I've been talking about it, but the emotions haven't hit me. And I know they will when I see the film, and when I see everyone on the press tour, and we're saying goodbye."
It's sure to be a heart-wrenching conclusion for fans if the first trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is anything to go by. But if it's emotional for us to watch, it must have been emotional for the cast to film.
"There were days when we talked about it on set. We took pictures, and we made videos. I remember shooting the last scene that we were all going to shoot together," Bautista recalled.
"It wasn't the last day. It wasn't even close to the last day. But it was the last time that the original version of the Guardians of the Galaxy were on set together, and we were all in tears. So I'm sure there's more of that to come."
He added: "It's a very bittersweet thing. I feel very accomplished and proud of what we did, and what we left behind. But also I'm leaving behind people that I've been on this journey with for 10 years, and they're family to me now. And I love them dearly."
While we wait to see if the cast will work together again (perhaps they'll reunite for one of James Gunn's DC outings), Bautista reflected on how when the first movie came out, it was seen as a risk for Marvel.
Both Guardians movies have gone on to be much-loved by fans and critics, with Vol 1 taking $773 million worldwide and Vol 2 improving on that with $864 million. But if there was doubt about the movies elsewhere, there certainly wasn't any with the cast.
"When we first started this journey, we weren't a big blockbuster franchise. We were quirky characters that everyone was kind of expecting to fail. But we knew that it was special. It felt special. It felt good. We were all so proud of what we had done," Bautista noted.
He continued: "We had so much fun with what we were doing. We knew it was great. Later on, everybody else found out, but we knew from the very beginning, in those early days of filming together, that it was something special.
"10 years later, seeing what we've accomplished is a very surreal thing. It's very bittersweet to say goodbye."
We're already getting emotional...
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is released in cinemas on May 5, while Knock at the Cabin is released on February 3.
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