James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been receiving critical and fan acclaim globally. MCU fans can’t stop raving about the story of Rocket, Star-Lord, and others on the team. It’s undeniable that the film was high on emotion as well as action.
However, it seems like Marvel worshippers aren’t happy with all the aspects of the movie. Many are complaining that Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock could have been handled better in the film. Now, James Gunn has admitted that he struggled with inserting Warlock’s story into the final movie of his MCU trilogy.
James Gunn Admits He Didn’t Know How To Use Adam Warlock In GOTG 3
In an interview with io9, James Gunn was asked which character was difficult to insert organically in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. After all, the third film had the difficult job of giving a satisfying ending to a lot of major characters like Rocket, Gamora, and Drax. To this, the director replied that it wasn’t actually anyone from the main cast, but Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock. Gunn said:
“Well there’s no doubt, it was Adam Warlock. Like, it was really difficult… I promised Adam at the end of the other movie. The High evolutionary has created Adam’s species. That was the way in.”
He further explained that inserting Adam Warlock into the film was difficult because his story is a bit separate from the others. But since he had promised Ayesha and Adam in the post-credits scene of the second Guardians film, so he had to deliver. Gunn elaborated:
“High Evolutionary is directly related to Rocket. All of, you know, War Pig, and the Recorders Vim, and Theel, they’re directly related. So, it was the thing that was the most kind of separate that we put back into it. Except that, we had also teed up Ayesha in the second movie, so we had all of that. But it was definitely the more difficult part to make a part of it.”
Fans of the franchise and viewers of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 definitely felt that the character wasn’t organically inserted. Many complained that Adam Warlock’s role in the movie felt a little odd as well.
Fans Complain About The Use Of Adam Warlock In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
In the io9 interview, James Gunn further stated that he was under pressure to put Adam Warlock in the third film. The Suicide Squad director said that originally he had planned to introduce Warlock in the second film as an enemy, but couldn’t. So he had to bring Will Poulter’s hero to this one. Viewers of the film could pick up on this forced insertion and have a lot of thoughts about it.
Here’s what the fans are saying:
He definitely didn't feel important but he was useful to the plot. At least he was definitely a solid 7 in all his action scenes.
Hope we get to see him soon.— Architect Shinamore (@shinamore) May 22, 2023
I loved GoG v3. Seen it 3 times so far. But honestly, they could easily have removed AW without doing any harm to the movie. If it would've meant more screen time for the core characters it might've even been a good thing. (I kinda feel the same about Kraglin and Cosmo, actually)
— WendellGee (@WendellGee5) May 21, 2023
Why include him as the sequel setup though if there was no concrete plan for him? We know rocket’s story and arc was planned from the start, so I imagine that was always the end goal. But why bring in Warlock if he wasn’t in your original plan for the trilogy?
— Z25 (@Z2506337384) May 21, 2023
It kind of shows? I mean, I enjoyed the character but he didn’t get enough screentime and depth to make him fully work. Hopefully they build off the character.
— Jason (@Certinfy) May 21, 2023
I could see that. Adam definitely felt the least developed out of the cast, and while I like him, I think giving him more development in future MCU movies will do him good.
— Troy Lundquist (@HeroOfFruits) May 22, 2023
Most fans felt that Adam Warlock’s character arc was basic but it still fit in the film with those of the core cast. Many were also forgiving because this was the character’s first appearance and he can definitely be developed more in the upcoming MCU projects.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is playing in theaters worldwide.
Source: io9
