James Gunn has an idea for a Guardians of the Galaxy spin-off centered on Drax and Mantis, and it reportedly isn’t completely off the table. Drax (Dave Bautista) was introduced to audiences back in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy and became something of a fan favorite thanks to his dry humor and tendency to take everything literally. Meanwhile, empath Mantis (Pom Klementieff) entered the picture in the 2017 sequel. While her relationship with Drax didn’t have a great start, they later forged a sweet bond after Drax decided Mantis reminded him of his late daughter.

Both Drax and Mantis are expected to appear in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which is aiming to wrap up the storylines Gunn began in the first film. As Vol. 3 has yet to receive an official release date, not much is known about the film as a whole, or if it will be the end of the Guardians. With Marvel, there’s always a possibility of characters returning later down the line, but the future of the Guardians beyond Vol. 3 is unknown.

While talking to Collider Videos about his new film My Spy, Bautista revealed Gunn has an idea for a spin-off for Drax and Mantis. He divulged this after being asked whether he would be willing to star in a Disney+ show as Drax. While Bautista turned down that possibility (putting on the Drax makeup for a series would be far too much for him), he expressed his interest in the Drax/Mantis film. Bautista said, “What I would like to do is honestly, and this is not my idea, I’m stealing this idea, but James Gunn had the idea to do a Drax/Mantis movie. And that’s what I would be up for, because there’s just too much fun there.” Gunn confirmed this on Twitter, even saying it “was never ruled out.” You can see the post below:

Bautista went on to say that, thanks to Marvel’s tendency to plan far in advance, it’s hard to fit things in if they don’t work with the overall plan. Bautista and Gunn’s comments were a bit at odds, since Bautista seemed to think the Drax/Mantis film is not a possibility at all while Gunn still has some hope. Once Vol. 3 is finished, there might be nothing stopping Marvel from green-lighting a spin-off for Drax and Mantis. That’s based on whether they both survive Vol. 3, though the fact that there’s a Black Widow movie arriving this May does confirm Marvel doesn’t mind jumping around in time.

Drax and Mantis have a sweet friendship in the MCU, and if Gunn has a genuinely unique idea for the two of them, a spin-off could be a solid idea. However, with the MCU’s next few years looking pretty packed, there might not be room for it. Plus, Gunn’s been making a second home for himself over on the DC side of things, and he might not be able to see a Drax/Mantis spin-off through. Still, the future is never set in stone, and a Guardians of the Galaxy offshoot could always be seen as a real possibility.

More: Every Upcoming Marvel Movie (2020 - 2022)

Source: Collider Videos, James Gunn

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