Actor and former wrestler Dave Bautista, perhaps best known for his role as Drax the Destroyer in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, will not be reprising the part for the upcoming Marvel animated anthology What If....? And it turns out, there's a simple explanation for his absence--according to Bautista, he was never asked.

　　Although the animated series doesn't hit Disney+ until August 11, one eagle-eyed fan noticed that Bautista is not credited with the role, and asked him on Twitter. "Let's start with I was never asked," Bautista responded, which prompted a confused response by his own Guardians director, James Gunn, who replied with "What."

　　Let’s start with I was never asked. https://t.co/HwrnMrEajh

　　— Poor Kid Who Chased His Dreams. (@DaveBautista) August 2, 2021

　　However, Bautista is hardly the only actor who isn't returning to their famous Marvel roles for the series. The actors who have historically played Tony Stark, Peter Parker, Steve Rogers, Carol Danvers, Ultron, Wanda Maximoff, Natasha Romanoff, Shuri, Pepper Potts, and Dora Milaje are now instead being portrayed by different actors.

　　Then again, before you get perplexed by this, the series does dive into various Marvel multiverses and the many possibilities for its characters beyond what has happened in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel certainly has some creative license to say that the alternate actors are part of the whole alternate history premise--except for the fact that many major stars are reprising their roles. So, who knows, but while Disney has not yet provided a comment on this--Gunn's acknowledgment could agitate enough for a response or some future Drax goodness we may not have gotten otherwise. After all, Bautista has been vocal about wishing Marvel "would invest more in Drax."

　　David Wolinsky on Google+