In honor of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which opens on Friday May 5^th, here is a look at the journey of Drax.

MASSIVE SPOILERS

Drax the Destroyer, like many of the other Guardians of the Galaxy, has had a lot of tragedy in his life. Drax lost his wife and daughter and has been on a quest for vengeance against Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) who had murdered his family. Drax teams up with Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) at the Kyln which is an intergalactic prison. They all escape when Ronan attacks the prison. Drax faces off with Ronan where he loses and is left for dead. Groot is the one to save his life. Drax and the other Guardians successfully defeat Ronan and save the galaxy. Drax then sets his vendetta against Thanos (Josh Brolin) who is really the one behind the deaths of his wife and daughter.

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Drax develops a bond with Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and they become quite a duo. They both are not the greatest at social situations. Mantis has had much interaction with other beings and Drax takes things literally making it difficult to for him to grasp the concept of sarcasm or taking things as a joke.

In Avengers: Infinity War Drax finally gets his chance to seek revenge against Thanos and ultimately loses along with Star-Lord, Mantis, Nebula (Karen Gillan), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and Spider-Man (Tom Holland). Drax, along with the others get blipped out after Thanos succeeds in wiping away half of the universe. Only Iron Man and Nebula are left standing.

Drax returns along with all the other fallen heroes in Avengers: Endgame where he helps fight Thanos and his army. In Thor: Love and Thunder Drax and the other Guardians part ways with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) who had joined them after defeating Thanos.

Drax gets his shining moment in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special where he and Mantis go to Earth to kidnap Kevin Bacon. They want to cheer Star-Lord up who is mourning Gamora who was sacrificed in order for Thanos to retrieve the Soul Stone. They go to Earth and Kevin Bacon does not react well. They run after him, and they face law & enforcement. They bring Kevin Bacon to space where he meets Star-Lord.

How will Drax’s story come to an end in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Dave Bautista has stated that this will be his last movie as the character. Based off those statements, presumably Drax will not be returning for subsequent movies or shows. That does not necessarily mean that Drax has to die. He could ride off into the sunset. It has been teased that there may be major deaths in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Drax is higher up on that list based on the fact that Dave Bautista is ready to move on to other things. Even if Drax is killed off, there is always the chance the character could resurface down the line. With a multiverse anything is possible and a different Drax could show up from a different Earth. Also, another actor could play the role if Dave Bautista does not want to come back. Drax provided a lot of the comedy in the movies since he takes things literally. His dynamic with Mantis is highly enjoyable to watch. They are one of many popular pairs in the MCU. I hope Drax will get a happy ending whatever that may look like and if he does end up dying in the movie, maybe he could reunite with his wife and daughter.