GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Vol. 3 Director Admits That He "Did Feel Pressure" To Introduce Adam Warlock

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Vol. 3 Director Admits That He "Did Feel Pressure" To Introduce Adam Warlock

Adam Warlock made his debut in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after being teased in Vol. 2's post-credits scene, and director James Gunn has now admitted to feeling pressure to include the character...

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By MarkCassidy - May 09, 2023 09:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Vol. 3

After being teased in one of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's post-credits scenes, Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) finally made his big-screen debut in Vol. 3.

Although the character was integral to the plot in some respects and did have a couple of big moments to shine, many felt that he seemed somewhat shoehorned in to the movie, and, despite Poulter's performance coming in for a lot of praise, Warlock has proved to be one of the more divisive elements of James Gunn's threequel.

During an interview with iO9, Gunn revealed that integrating Adam and his Sovereign "mother" Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) into the story proved very difficult, and admitted that he "did feel pressure" to include the character after setting him up in Vol. 2.

Whether that pressure was self-applied or came from Marvel Studios higher-ups is unclear, but we've heard that Gunn was pretty much given free rein on this film, so we're leaning towards the former.

Spoilers follow.

Adam ends up saving Star-Lord at the end of Vol. 3 and joins the new team under Captain Rocket, giving this next incarnation of the Guardians a powerful heavy-hitter. Whether Poulter will get the opportunity to reprise the role remains to be seen, but if there is a Vol. 4, it won't be with Gunn at the helm.

"In Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 our beloved band of misfits are settling into life on Knowhere. But it isn’t long before their lives are upended by the echoes of Rocket’s turbulent past." "Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him on a dangerous mission to save Rocket’s life—a mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them."

Gunn writes and directs Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, and Maria Bakalova. Kevin Feige is the producer and Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nikolas Korda, Simon Hatt, and Sara Smith serve as executive producers.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now in theaters.

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Midnaslament
Midnaslament - 5/9/2023, 9:05 AM
we are definitely spoiled to a fault. it seems very stupid and impatient to me that people is getting angry about Warlock's depiction as if he couldn't mature and be developed later to fit the more known depiction of him in the comics. But no, its as if people wants [frick]ing Warlock to save the entire galaxy in the first [frick]ing movie he shows up in just to match a whiny dude's favorite comic, even if it doesnt make sense YET for the story
supermanrex
supermanrex - 5/9/2023, 9:21 AM
@Midnaslament - yet these whiners would be throwing nerd tantrums if gunn left warlock out. screaming about missed opportunities. its like you said warlock was only supposed to be introduced and setup for later greatness. at the end of the day this was the guardians movies to conclude their arc so warlock is second billing. he still had huge moments though.
DevilsDreams
DevilsDreams - 5/9/2023, 9:22 AM
@Midnaslament - you know... if he did save up and save the entire galaxy straight away, those same people would be moaning about that too!
mountainman
mountainman - 5/9/2023, 10:20 AM
@Midnaslament - I wasn’t the biggest fan of the characterization, but it didn’t bring the movie down for me and it seemed like he had grown by the end. It seems like he will be better in a future appearance.
Tonic24k
Tonic24k - 5/9/2023, 10:43 AM
@mountainman - Exactly this.
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 5/9/2023, 1:26 PM
@Midnaslament - This is Gunn's Warlock, he is never going to become what you expect, you are sounding like a fan of Snyder's Superman.
Midnaslament
Midnaslament - 5/9/2023, 1:52 PM
@TheHumanSpider2 - read my comment again
Radders
Radders - 5/10/2023, 5:44 AM
@Midnaslament - If you passionately like a comic book character, have been looking forward to their appearance in the MCU then get that clown of a character who was as far away from Adam Warlock it's possible to get, to complain is not, stupid, impatient or whiney - it's like you have no comprehension of nerd culture
Midnaslament
Midnaslament - 5/10/2023, 1:17 PM
@Radders - i do get it, and im criticizing it. that same quality of being spoiled is part of what makes the star wars fandom so toxic, because every fan thinks it definitely should turn out like it would on their heads.

even in comics there are different versions and volumes of every character and different people will have different iterations of said character as their favorite, but expecting it to be adapted since their origin as how you depict them and getting angry with them for not doing that is very silly.

nerd culture doesnt need to be so close to this behaviour, getting rid of that mentality would also make a less toxic environment among fans since everyone would be more open to others' opinions and to different _adaptations_ of the characters.
Radders
Radders - 5/15/2023, 8:35 AM
@Midnaslament - Personally I think the label "toxic fan" came about because people complained about something they didn't like and were immediately called istaphobes or insulted - to me that's the true toxicity in fandom and the well spring that all else comes from.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 5/9/2023, 9:09 AM
I didn't mind Warlock, but it did feel like Gunn was scrambling to utilize him in a way that felt natural to the story.
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 5/9/2023, 9:27 AM
@MarkCassidy - And that's because Guardians ended at Vol 3 for James. Had he been open to a Vol 4, Vol 3 could have strictly been about Adam hunting down Rocket and the team learning about the High Evolutionary and then Adam joins them and Vol 4 would be about the High Evolutionary. But we will get more Adam in time.
iceballsreborn
iceballsreborn - 5/9/2023, 10:07 AM
@MarkCassidy - he was scrambling- for story, for look, for sounds.. erm ironmans repulsor?
TheHumanSpider2
TheHumanSpider2 - 5/9/2023, 1:27 PM
@MarkCassidy - He basically became pointless after the forced way they have him injuring Rocket...
supermanrex
supermanrex - 5/9/2023, 9:19 AM
truth be told i have fun at the movies and then i come here and other places and find all these nitpicky bitching and i just cant see how to agree with any of it. i dont know what the [frick] anyone is talking about he was shoehorned in.
iceballsreborn
iceballsreborn - 5/9/2023, 10:07 AM
@supermanrex - so why come here then?
supermanrex
supermanrex - 5/9/2023, 2:33 PM
@iceballsreborn - cause when you make it through all the bullshit there are actually cool people on this site to comment and discuss with. thats why.
SpideyQuad
SpideyQuad - 5/9/2023, 5:19 PM
@iceballsreborn - that was unnecessary
Midnaslament
Midnaslament - 5/9/2023, 9:20 AM
i loved this movie i wanna cry again 7 times
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 5/9/2023, 11:38 AM
@Midnaslament - yessir
case
case - 5/9/2023, 9:25 AM
I liked him. His arc felt a bit telegraphed but I liked that too.
noahthegrand
noahthegrand - 5/9/2023, 9:26 AM
I feel like this is the only recent movie I’ve ever seen where everyone dancing at the end actually emotionally works and isn’t a lazy ending
GhostDog
GhostDog - 5/9/2023, 9:42 AM
He did feel like an add-on and not a particularly genuine one. But his inclusion could’ve been worse. I think Gunn did a solid job of making him feel as “naturally” part of the story as he could.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 5/9/2023, 9:51 AM
His inclusion worked just fine as an introduction. Wouldn’t of made sense if we got a fully fledged Warlock for this story. He’s really a character that should’ve been introduced in the Infinity Saga but a lot of his philosophical characteristics and forehead Infinity gem was passed to Vision, so they was always going to have to do something different.
Fares
Fares - 5/9/2023, 11:04 AM
@PlusUltra - Naked Vision > Clothed Vision

Don't shoot the messenger.
CassianAndor
CassianAndor - 5/9/2023, 12:26 PM
@Fares - If only Joss Whedon got his way and Vision had a dick.
Fares
Fares - 5/9/2023, 12:37 PM
@CassianAndor -
TheDpool
TheDpool - 5/9/2023, 9:53 AM
I mean Warlock was teased as far back as Thor The Dark World's midcredit Guardians tease. It wasn't him, but the cocoon we saw there was teased straight from the page.
DocSpock
DocSpock - 5/9/2023, 9:56 AM

I wonder what the cosmic side of the MCU has in store for us. I still am sure Feige has a master plan for it all, though the last year or so have certainly had some missteps.

Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel 2.0 Rambeau, Adam Warlock, maybe Nova, the Eternals, Dr. Strange & Clea whatever they are up to could & should really lead to something epic & spectacular.

Galactus, Annihilus, Beyonder, Dormammu return, cosmic X-Men villain races. So many great & huge threats available. And, of course, all the great mayhem Dr. Doom will cause.

naysayers claim the MCU is dying. No way man. Lotta great stuff to come.
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 5/9/2023, 10:08 AM
I enjoyed him quite a bit, but from what I remember he did feel a bit out of place in the 3rd Act. I did like his redemption though, and him asking why they saved him.
soberchimera
soberchimera - 5/9/2023, 10:14 AM
He didn't bother me, I'm glad Gunn followed up on that thread from the previous film, if anything Phyla-Vell was shoehorned in at the end.
mountainman
mountainman - 5/9/2023, 10:23 AM
@soberchimera - They only called her Phylla. I wouldn’t be surprised if she isn’t Kree in the MCU. It felt like all those kids were created by the HE not stolen from other planets.
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