Although a "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" post-credit scene teased the pending arrival of Adam Warlock, the classic Marvel character may still not appear in the sequel. Franchise director James Gunn recently set the record straight that he is still not confirmed for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."
"We almost didn't include the Adam Warlock scene because he was definitely not in Avengers 3 or 4 and we had no plans for him in general," Gunn explained on Twitter. "And despite so many people thinking Adam will show up in Vol. 3, that is something that we have never confirmed. Who knows how long it will take him to bake in that cocoon? That said, I love Adam. But the time must be right."
Created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, Adam Warlock debuted as "Him" on the pages of 1967's "Fantastic Four," specifically in issues #66-67 before his character was revamped as Adam Warlock in 1972. He is an artificially created human who possesses superhuman strength, flight, and ability to manipulate matter. In the comics, he is linked to the Soul Gem and runs afoul of Thanos, as well as Magus, an evil version of himself from the future.
According to reports, Adam Warlock appeared in the early drafts of "Vol. 2." However, despite his fondness for the character, Gunn did not want to include too many characters in the movie. Instead, he added the post-credit scene that sees Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) creating Warlock. Even that was nearly cut from the film as it may look like the character was being set up for "Avengers: Infinity War."
"I had to fight for Adam in the post-credits sequence," Gunn told Cinema Blend earlier this year. "Because I really thought that's where that should go."
So, one of the promises he made to make sure fans will not have false expectations about Adam's future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is to let everyone know he will not be in the remaining two "Avengers" installments.
Time will only tell when the character will make his way into the MCU. If he really does, though, it will likely be after "Avengers 4" when the dust has settled. Gunn has previously teased that "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" will help set up the next phase of the MCU and his teasing of Adam Warlock could very well be for the next phase. Fans can only keep their fingers crossed for now.
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" has no release date yet, but it is not expected in theaters until 2020.
