Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director James Gunn addresses why Drax never got to fight Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The filmmaker first brought the rag-tag team of cosmic heroes to the big screen in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy which was followed up with a sequel in 2017 with many of the characters going on to appear in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Other than Drax, the original Guardians of the Galaxy lineup includes Star-Lord, Gamora, Groot, and Rocket.

Introduced in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film and portrayed perfectly by Dave Bautista, Drax the Destroyer is a warrior hellbent on seeking revenge against Ronan the Accuser for killing his wife and daughter, but by the end of the movie, he realizes Ronan's boss, Thanos, is ultimately responsible for the heinous crime. However, Drax's motivation was slowly forgotten with each subsequent MCU installment. Sure, they cross paths in Infinity War, but neither moment carries any real emotional weight for Drax. In Endgame, many fans were disappointed Drax didn't have a chance to fight Thanos like Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel.

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A debate recently broke out on Twitter amongst MCU fans about Drax's MCU character arc and why he never got to fight Thanos mano-a-mano. A fan asked Gunn to chime in, which he did, saying he only wrote one scene with Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy, so the fan will have to go elsewhere with his inquiry. Check out the interaction below.

While Gunn kept his thoughts on the matter private, Bautista absolutely shares fans' sentiment regarding Drax's character arc in the MCU. Bautista has expressed disappointment at how the whole Drax-Thanos history was "swept under the rug" and that Drax wasn't the one to kill Thanos in Endgame. While just about every MCU actor likely wanted to see their character be the one to defeat the big bad, Bautista's claim is stronger than others since Drax was one of the first characters to develop a personal vendetta against the purple alien.

While Drax's MCU arc may have disappointed up until this point, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, scheduled for a release on May 5, 2023, has the chance to correct course. Gunn and Bautista have long said the threequel will be the end of their time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so hopefully Drax will be sent off with some redemption. Though he wasn't able to fight Thanos, perhaps he could be the one who defeats Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's villain, High Evolutionary who might also have a connection to Drax, which would as a decent consolation prize.

Source: James Gunn/Twitter