Marvel Picks WWE Star Dave Bautista to Be Drax the Destroyer in 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

Guardians of the Galaxy intrigues me more than any previous movie that Marvel Studios has produced. While most of us are familiar on some level with Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and the Hulk, the Guardians of the Galaxy are a mystery to the casual comic book fan. Of course, Marvel is working very hard on changing that before the film adaption hits theaters on Aug. 1, 2014, with Brian Michael Bendis writing the book's relaunch and by adding Iron Man to the Guardians for that series. My curiosity aside, I have little doubt that Guardians of the Galaxy will do huge box office numbers, since that's just what movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe do now. (I'm already pegging May's Iron Man 3 for a $180 million opening weekend.)

With Guardians of the Galaxy scheduled to begin filming in a few months, Marvel still has a lot of casting work to do. James Gunn is directing, and the only official casting announcement before Thursday had been Parks and Recreation's Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, the team's leader. There had been reports that Game of Thrones' Jason Momoa was close to signing on to play Drax the Destroyer, but those talks fell apart. Marvel took another step toward filling out the Guardians of the Galaxy roster on Thursday, when the studio signed WWE star Dave Bautista to play Drax, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

While Bautista really isn't known as an actor (he did appear in The Man With the Iron Fists and will be in the upcoming Riddick), he certainly looks the part. Well, except for the green skin part. If this wasn't the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel didn't have the track record they do when it comes to making unconventional casting decisions that pay off big, I'd have concerns about a wrestler playing this part.

I'm guessing that we'll see Marvel move on filling the rest of the movie's roles over the next few weeks. The studio still needs to cast Groot (a talking tree), Rocket Raccoon (a talking raccoon) and Gamora. Let's hope Adam Sandler stays far away from those parts.