After the release of the first Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 trailer focused on our heroes’ last voyage “into the forever,” sidelining Adam Warlock to essentially an Easter egg by appearing in just a couple of frames, many might have been wondering what we can really expect from the debut of the highly-anticipated character in the threequel. Writer-director James Gunn did provide some insight on what we can expect from Adam Warlock during an interview with Empire Magazine.
Empire Magazine also provided a new look at Will Poulter as Adam Warlock in the new MCU sequel, which you can check out below:
WHO IS ADAM WARLOCK IN GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3?
While James Gunn wouldn’t confirm that Adam Warlock will have a heavy focus in the new film, he did provide new details about the character in an interview with Empire Magazine. In the spectrum of good guys vs. bad guys, Gunn teased that Warlock is a complex character, but definitely not part of the “good guys.” Gunn said:
“It’s kind of more complicated than that. But he’s definitely not a good guy. What we’re seeing is the infant form of Warlock, newly out of the cocoon, and he does not understand life very well. He’s basically a baby.”
RELATED: WILL POULTER CAST AS COSMIC SUPER BEING ADAM WARLOCK IN GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3
As revealed in October 2021, when reports about Will Poulter portraying the character first came out, the casting process was long, but Poulter went above and beyond ticking all the boxes for Gunn. Speaking to Empire, Gunn revisited his sentiments regarding how perfect he finds the actor for the role:
“People online were saying, ‘Oh, Tom Cruise should be Adam Warlock.’ I wanted somebody who was youthful, and I wanted the person who had the dramatic chops and the comedic chops, not only for this movie but for what Marvel will use Adam Warlock for in the future. He could become this really important character.”
In the comics, Adam Warlock was first created by a scientific experiment that attempted to make the perfect human being. He was first introduced in 1967, in a Fantastic Four issue, and he later played a pivotal role in the comic trilogy Infinity Gauntlet in the 1990s.Â
James Gunn first meant to introduce the character into the MCU in the second Guardians movie, but ultimately decided against it when he realized the movie was already full of characters. Instead, he used one of the movie’s five post-credits sequences to tease the character by showing us the iconic cocoon he was born from and having Elizabeth Debicki’s character, Ayesha, say he is meant to destroy the Guardians of the Galaxy, adding “I think I shall call him…Adam.”
The upcoming film will finally act as the payoff to that scene, six years later. Will Poulter, whom audiences might recognize from We’re the Millers and The Maze Runner, will be portraying him. The actor, who at one point had been signed to play Elrond in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, is expected to continue playing the character beyond Vol. 3 in future MCU projects.
THE LONG-AWAITED RELEASE OF GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3
Behind the camera, James Gunn wrote and directed the film. The script has been in the can for many years, as he was originally supposed to start shooting the threequel in 2019 for a 2020 release. In the summer of 2018, Gunn was fired by former Disney Studios Chair Alan Horn, before eventually being brought back later on. However, by that time, though, he’d already signed with Warner Bros. to make The Suicide Squad, which pushed the development on the third Guardians film back a few years.Â
As Gunn revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly in December, one of the main reasons why he was so keen on coming back was because he wanted to finish telling Rocket’s story:
“One of the reasons why I came back to [make] this movie was because I felt like I needed to tell Rocket’s story. I would’ve been very sad not to complete the trilogy for many reasons, but I just feel very connected to Rocket. I feel like nobody would be able to tell his full story if it wasn’t me. To me, Rocket has always been the secret protagonist of the Guardians movies. From the beginning, it has been rooted in who he is as a character.”
“I think he exemplifies a lot of the traits of all the Guardians. They’ve had all these traumas, and it brings them together. I just think that his is more extreme than others. He was just fine being an animal, and he was transformed into something else he didn’t want to be. I think that transformation itself was extremely painful, but I also think it made him feel incredibly alienated from everyone else. In Vol. 3, we learn a lot about his past — where he came from, who he is, and what he’s been through. It’s been a difficult road for the little animal.”
In front of the camera, the entire cast is back on board. Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/Star-Lord), Dave Bautista (Drax), Vin Diesel (Groot), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Sean Gunn (Kraglin / on-set Rocket) are all returning, and the trailer did not hesitate to confirm that Zoe Saldaña is also back with the team as Gamora, even though this is not the original Gamora who died at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.
Additionally, coming back from Vol. 2 are Elizabeth Debicki (Ayesha) and Sylvester Stallone (Stakar Ogord), and reprising her role as Cosmo, the Space Dog from The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is Borat 2’s Maria Bakalova. Daniela Melchior is also joining the cast in an undisclosed role.
After the extended wait, the sequel’s release is nearly here. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will hit theaters on May 5, 2023.
What do you make of Gunn’s comments on Adam Warlock? Are you looking forward to seeing Will Poulter in the role? What exactly are you most excited to see in the third Guardians film? Let us know on our social media, and stay tuned to The Illuminerdi for more news on the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
SOURCE: Empire Magazine
KEEP READING: WILL POULTER SHOWS GRATITUDE FOR BEING CAST AS ADAM WARLOCK IN THE MCU
