GOTG 3's Adam Warlock Was Originally A Bigger Part Of Vol. 2

One of the biggest issues superhero movies can face is the density of characters and plots that could leave a film feeling overstuffed and underdeveloped. The "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise avoids this by primarily focusing on the backstories and motivations of the core members of the Guardians team and the villains — but that leaves very little room for new characters across the galaxy to be fully fleshed out. However, the creative process can sometimes result in a reshuffling of stories. While Adam Warlock (Will Poulter) has a big part to play in the new "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," he was once intended to be squeezed into the action of the 2017 sequel film "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," instead of just appearing in a mid-credits scene.

Speaking with io9, director James Gunn was asked if he had felt pressure to put Adam Warlock in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," and he admitted that he did. "A lot of the stuff was written for 'Volume 2.' Originally, Adam Warlock was in 'Volume 2,' and he was sort of the opposing force. I seem to always have a second force, right? So in the first movie, Yondu (Michael Rooker) serves that position. He's an alternative force. And in the second movie, Ayesha serves that position. In this movie, it's Adam and Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) together. So I always had the character in mind from that movie. And then he seemed to fit better in this movie than he did in that movie."

As such, James Gunn actually explained that since Adam Warlock originally had a big part in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2," it actually was harder to fit the character in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" naturally. Gunn elaborated, "It was really difficult. You know, I promised Adam at the end of the other movie. The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) has created Adam's species. That was the way in. But everything else was, you know, the High Evolutionary is directly related to Rocket (Bradley Cooper). War Pig (Judy Greer), the recorders Vim (Miriam Shor) and Theel (Nico Santos), they're directly related. So it was the thing that was the most kind of separate that we put back into it. Except we'd also teed up Ayesha in the second movie. So we had all of that. But it was definitely the most difficult part to make it part of it."

In both the comics and the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise, Adam Warlock is supposedly a perfect being created by the Sovereign. The Sovereign are a group of golden people who the Guardians ran afoul of in the early moments of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.," and their leader Ayesha vows revenge against the plucky group. Needless to say, it makes sense why Adam Warlock was merely teased in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2.," and although Gunn had a tricky time integrating the character in "Vol 3.," his presence certainly highlights the power and influence of the High Evolutionary.