Dave Bautista Marks 'End of a Journey' as He Wraps Filming His Final 'Guardians' Movie as Drax

Dave Bautista is bidding a fond (and emotional) farewell to his Marvel Cinematic Universe character, Drax the Destroyer.

The 53-year-old actor and former professional wrestler posted to Instagram on Monday to mark the end of filming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, sharing a photo of himself with costars Chris Pratt, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn and Pom Klementieff, as well as the movie's writer-director James Gunn.

"Haven't found the words yet," Bautista wrote in the caption. "It ended so suddenly and I was on to my next film before I could process it all."

"End of a journey that changed my life. #guardiansofthegalaxy #vol3 #GoodbyeDrax #DreamChaser #DreamMachine," he concluded.

James, 55, Gillan, 34, and Klementieff, 36, all commented with red heart emojis, while their costar Zoe Saldaña wrote, "You guys rock!! ❤️❤️."

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James shared the same photo to Instagram Friday night, writing, "And that's a picture wrap on the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy. I love this amazing cast & crew & their beautiful talent & kind souls. I'm a lucky human to have them on the journey with me for nearly a decade."

The director also teased, "And yes Zoe was with us but the only picture I have with her has an unannounced actor with us!"

"Love you guardians! Yes I was there but left early cause I'm an old tired mama! Hahahahahahaha," Saldaña, 43, wrote in a comment.

James later posted an image of a film slate from the set, sharing that they filmed over 100 days with "over 3,000 shots."

"It is somewhat simple to explain to others how much I love this cast & crew. It is more difficult to explain how much I love these characters - that I see them as parts of myself & parts of those I love, & filming them, & writing their words, is a way of expressing that love," he added, in part.

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Bautista chatted with PEOPLE last summer after wrapping filming on Thor: Love and Thunder earlier in 2021, saying at the time, "I don't know if they'll move forward with the character or with Guardians at all [after Vol. 3]."

"I'll probably have to do a table read but they would really even have to force me to do that. I like going in with no expectations, you know, because I'm a fan," he added.

Of wrapping Guardians 3, Bautista — who has played Drax in the Guardians films as well as Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019) — said at the time, "That will be the end of my Drax journey."

"It's been a hell of a journey with this cast and Guardians and the whole Marvel Universe," he told PEOPLE. "I feel like it really launched my career. And I'm kind of wrapping up that part of my journey, so it's very much a bittersweet thing."

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opens in theaters May 5, 2023.