Recently, rumors surfaced that Will Poulter had landed the role of Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Those rumors got back to writer/director James Gunn and he took to social media to put an end to the buzz… by CONFIRMING Poulter’s casting!
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As you can see, Gunn was reacting to an article by Deadline which simply credited “sources” as “confirming” Poulter’s casting. As Gunn wrote:
“As you guys know I often strike down false rumors, so… um…
“Welcome to the Guardians family, Will Poulter. He’s an amazing actor and wonderful guy. See you in a couple weeks.”
Gunn wrote and directed the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies and is returning for the third and apparently final installment. (Well, at least his final installment…) The introduction of Adam Warlock was teased at the end of Vol. 2 in a post-credits scene featuring Elizabeth Debicki as the gold-skinned Ayesha, which showed a spot-on live-action replica of Adam’s chamber.
In the comics, Adam Warlock was originally known as Him. (Ayesha, in the comics, was called Her.) He was created by Earth scientists, not a cosmic being… at least not at first. After being reborn by the High Evolutionary, who embedded the Soul Gem (or Stone if you are only familiar with the movies) in his forehead granting him incredible power.
Eventually, he did become a cosmic champion under the pen of sci-fi writer Jim Starlin. Thanos, Gamora, and Drax all rose to prominence in his series. He played a major role in the Infinity Gauntlet series, which introduced that now-famous artifact to the Marvel Universe, which led into the series Infinity Watch, in which he led a team of galactic heroes who were each entrusted with one of the Infinity Gems. This team included Gamora and Drax.
In more recent years, he has served as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, so his popping up in one of their movies was kind of inevitable.
Gunn is coming off the box office flop The Suicide Squad for Disney/Marvel’s rival Warner Bros. He is also preparing to unleash the spinoff TV series, Peacemaker starring John Cena on HBO Max.
Poulter was most recently seen on The Underground Railroad, and he may be remembered from big and small screen projects like Midsommar, Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, The Maze Runner franchise, and We’re the Millers. He was hired to play Pennywise in the cinematic It adaptation, but as the film struggled to get made behind the scenes, he appeared to have lost interest and left the project, with the iconic role going to Bill Skarsgård.
Poulter will be seen in the upcoming British crime flick The Score, the Hulu miniseries Dopesick, and another miniseries, Why Don’t They Ask Evans? based on an Agatha Christie novel.
Poulter may not look exactly like the golden Adonis that Adam Warlock is drawn as in the comics, but as Gunn says he’s an ‘amazing actor”… well, at least he’s a very promising up-and-comer… I haven’t been let down yet by Gunn’s casting choices!
But what do you think? Feel free to comment below!
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be released in 2023. Returning cast members include Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Sean Gunn, Pom Klementieff, Zoe Saldana, and the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. Debicki is also expected back.