'I would have exited if Disney had not fired filmmaker James Gunn': Dave Bautista

Wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista has revealed that he would have exited the "Guardian of the Galaxy" franchise if Disney had not reversed its decision to fire filmmaker James Gunn. The 50-year-old actor, who plays Drax the Destroyer in Marvel Cinematic Universe, has been very vocal in his support of the filmmaker, who was fired by Marvel Studios' parent company Disney after his old, controversial tweets resurfaced on social media last year.

The studio last month went back on its decision and reinstated Gunn as the director of the third part of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise. "I am contractually obligated (to do the third movie), but I think that Marvel and Disney, if I had really stood my ground and said, 'I don't want to do this without James', I think that they are decent enough that they would've let me out of my contract," Bautista told Variety.

The actor said he vented out what was going on in his mind after Gunn was sacked. "I just spoke my mind and was honest about the way I felt about it. I thought he was given a raw deal. I thought it was a bad call, bad decision," he added.

(With inputs from agencies.)