Before Guardians of the Galaxy was released in theaters, many people suspected that the movie would be a box office flop. Revolving around an obscure group of characters and featuring an eclectic cast, the odds appeared to be stacked against the Marvel Comics adaptation, but it later proved to be a critical and commercial hit with $772 million at the worldwide box office!
One casting decision which had everyone up in arms was WWE wrestler Dave Bautista being chosen to play Drax the Destroyer. Future Aquaman Jason Momoa was initially offered the role, but declined after Marvel Studios refused to pay him what he wanted.
Despite doubts about a pro wrestler making his leap to Hollywood with a major superhero role (everyone had forgotten Dwayne Johnson, it seems), the man known in WWE as "Batista" proved all his doubters wrong and stole the show as the space-faring badass. However, for filmmaker James Gunn, casting him as Drax proved to be an uphill struggle with Marvel Studios.
In the Tweet below, Gunn responds to a fan and explains that he had to "fight" for the actor to star in Guardians of the Galaxy. Eventually, it seems Bautista not only managed to prove the critics wrong, but also some noteworthy studio executives.
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