Dave Bautista is now clarifying statements he made back when Disney fired James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Bautista was very vocal about his distaste for Disney after they let Gunn go over some old tweets that featured some tasteless and disgusting jokes. Since then, the studio has brought the director back on board to helm the final installment in the franchise. But for a while, it looked like Disney was not going to change their minds over the situation, sending Gunn off to rebuild his career.

Back when Disney first made their decision to let James Gunn go, Dave Bautista went as far as to publicly ask to be removed from his contract unless the studio brought the director back for Guardians of the Galaxy 3. Gunn moved on to work with DC for The Suicide Squad and many assumed Bautista was going to join him. The actor spoke out against the studio's decision any time he could. Bautista explains the situation.

"No, it wasn't that I was going to jump ship and do Suicide Squad. I was more at the point where I was like, 'Fire me. I don't care. You're going to hear what I have to say.' And this is the way I feel and I think you made a bad call and I don't care if you fire me because I feel this way. This is me being honest and me sticking up for my friend who was wronged.' So that was it. It wasn't about me -- I'm not threatening to go do Suicide Squad, but I was just saying, 'If things aren't here, I'm just going to leave. I don't want to be a part of this.'"

Production on Guardians of the Galaxy 3 more than likely would have wrapped by this time had James Gunn not been fired. Cameras were scheduled to roll earlier this year and sets had reportedly already started to be built when the director was let go. Now, James Gunn will finish up work on The Suicide Squad before heading back over to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Suicide Squad sequel is expected to begin production shortly.

Dave Bautista is keeping busy and is currently out promoting the action comedy Stuber. The former professional wrestler stars alongside Kumail Nanjiani, who is playing an Uber driver named Stu. Bautista is a grizzled LAPD detective and the unlikely duo form a partnership. The movie premiered at SXSW earlier this year and hits theaters in July.

Dave Bautista is also taking on the role of Glossu Rabban, the brutish nephew of Baron Harkonnen, in Denis Villeneuve's upcoming Dune remake. The actor is definitely keeping busy and is very happy that he'll be playing Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy 3 under the direction of James Gunn. The interview with Bautista was originally conducted by Entertainment Tonight.