Dave Bautista will return for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 despite 'nauseating' James Gunn firing

Dave Bautista will return as Drax for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but he’s not too happy about reprising the role without director James Gunn at the helm.

The actor, who already voiced his displeasure after Gunn was axed due to a slew of appalling, years-old shock-humor tweets, took to Twitter on Sunday to announce he is reluctantly sticking with the franchise.

“I will do what Im legally obligated to do but @Guardians without @JamesGunn is not what I signed up for. GOTG w/o @JamesGunn just isn’t GOTG,” he wrote.

“Its also pretty nauseating to work for someone who’d empower a smear campaign by fascists #cybernazis . That’s just how I feel,��� Bautista added.

Last week the core Guardians cast signed a letter collectively sticking up for the director, and some of them have called for him to be reinstated — though media reports have suggested that’s rather unlikely to happen.

Gunn apologized for the tweets just hours after his firing. “My words of nearly a decade ago were, at the time, totally failed and unfortunate efforts to be provocative,” Gunn said. “I have regretted them for many years since — not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provocative like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.”