James Gunn Publicly Rejects a GOTG Fan Ship

It’s no doubt that Mantis and Drax have great chemistry, that’s why the two have been paired for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and the recently released Holiday Special. With some fans thinking there could be a hint at a romance, director James Gunn (and actress Pom Klementieff) has outright said that is not the case.

A tweet had tagged Gunn saying, “I desperately need Drax @DaveBautista and Mantis @PomKlementieff to fall in love with each other; what can we do about it?” and Gunn and Klementieff replied:

They are absolutely not each other's type.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 30, 2022

Though the two have been paired together onscreen, it seems like the relationship between Mantis and Drax is more of a father/daughter one. Mantis has her hang-ups with her father being Ego the Living Planet, and Drax has lost his daughter to Ronan the Accuser. Mantis and Drax’s connection is kind of the continuation of the franchise’s theme of ‘found family.’

If anything, the Holiday Special does tease for us a future relationship between Mantis and Quill, seeing that the two are actually siblings. As for Drax, a rumor is going around that the third movie will reveal that his daughter is actually alive, and it’s possible that this could be Drax’s time to exit the group. If anything, it’s just a rumor, and it’s very possible that Gunn wants a different exit for the character—seeing that Vol. 3 is said to be the last time that we’re going to see this iteration of the guardians.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to come out May 5, 2023, but you can catch them fooling around in Christmastime in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special now screening on Disney+.