Former Wrestler Dave Bautista is Drax in 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

Since The Avengers decimated the box office last summer, Marvel Studios has been busy putting together plans for Phase II of their film adaptations. By far the most intriguing title on their upcoming slate is Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by Super and Slither helmer James Gunn, and though that movie is already set for an August 1st, 2014 release date, we haven't heard too many details about it yet. Chris Pratt ("Parks and Recreation, Zero Dark Thirty) landed the lead role of Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord), and now THR confirms former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista has made a deal to play Drax the Destroyer. More below!

Pratt's casting was totally out of left field since he hadn't been mentioned in any of the previous reports leading up to the final decision, but the same can't be said for Bautista. Though we heard "Game of Thrones" and Conan the Barbarian star Jason Momoa had received an offer for the role of Drax, Latino-Review mentioned that Bautista was also in contention around the same time. El Mayimbe now reports that Momoa and Marvel couldn't see eye to eye on a potential payday, so the studio ended up going with Bautista instead.

He'll play Drax the Destroyer, a former human killed by Thanos and resurrected as an warrior hellbent on revenge. Drax can fly, has super strength, can shoot pulse beams from his hands, and (perhaps most importantly) can sense Thanos' presence in space. Just how much emoting Bautista will have to do in this role remains to be seen, but he's certainly been a physical force to be reckoned with on screen before in The Man with the Iron Fists and The Scorpion King 3, and he'll face off against Vin Diesel in the upcoming Riddick sequel. Pairing him with a comedian like Pratt seems like an odd team, but hey: this is a group whose members include a talking raccoon and a walking tree, so "odd" seems par for the course.

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