adam warlock

It looks like a case of “making it up as we go” with James Gunn and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’.  The former indie filmmaker turned straw into gold when he took the most obscure Marvel property and turned ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ into a bonafide sensation.  And while ‘Vol. 2’ wasn’t nearly as buzzy, it was still a big hit at the box office and like most super movies, included a few mid- and post-credit stingers to tease upcoming film events.  Obviously, the Guardians pop up in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ next year, climaxing the big Thanos storyline that has been building since 2012’s ‘Avengers’.  In addition to that, ‘GotGv2′ featured the gathering of Stakar’s team, consisting mainly of the comics’ original Guardians of the Galaxy and the future introduction of “Adam,” a gestating being in a pod, created by Ayesha, Queen of the Sovereign (Elizabeth Debicki).

Of course, this established the introduction of deity Adam Warlock, Marvel’s most high-profile cosmic hero next to the Silver Surfer.  In the comics, Adam was one of the most important figures in both the ‘Infinity Gauntlet’ and ‘Infinity War’ comics, but he has not been set up in the film universe… and he may not be.  Gunn revealed on Twitter that not only is Warlock not in either ‘Infinity War’ or the untitled ‘Avengers 4’, but he doesn’t even have a plan to introduce him in ‘GotGv3’!

Gunn has revealed that Warlock actually appeared in early drafts for ‘Vol. 2’ but wound up cut.  And that the post-credits Warlock tease was actually cut as well.

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“I had to fight for Adam in the post-credits sequence. Because I really thought that’s where that should go. And I thought one of the main reasons to have the Sovereign in the movie was to give audiences the hint that Adam Warlock is coming. That was one of the reasons for them to exist. And I wrote that post-credits sequence in the first draft of the script. And then there were a lot of questions about whether or not we should put that in there, because people were going to expect Adam Warlock in Infinity War. So one of the things I promised – which I do all of the time on Twitter – is letting everyone know that Adam Warlock is not going to be in Avengers 3 or Avengers 4. It’s just not going to happen. Because I didn’t want people to have false expectations of what they thought was going to happen with Adam.”

In the comics, Warlock is an analog for Jesus Christ, who possesses the Soul Gem, allowing him to absorb the souls of others.  Through his cosmic journeys, he discovers the existence of the other Infinity Gems.  Gamora actually originated as a supporting character in Walock’s comic book.  After discovering that the evil despot The Magus is actually himself from the future, Warlock travels forward in time to encounter himself and kills his future version by absorbing his soul into the Soul Gem.  Of course, he later escapes and aids the other Marvel heroes against Thanos before embarking on additional cosmic adventures.

In the films, we know that ‘Infinity War’ will likely cap the Thanos/Infinity Gauntlet storyline, but that the entire Marvel CU up til now will essentially be wrapped up in ‘Avengers 4’.  Does that mean an end to the cosmic side of things?  If not, there is certainly room for Warlock to make his debut after ‘Avengers 4’.  ‘GotGv3’ doesn’t arrive until after that, anyway.  (That, along with the sequel to ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ are the only Phase Four movies that have been announced.)

Are you a fan of Adam Warlock?  Are you disappointed that there aren’t actually plans in place to bring him into the Marvel Cinematic Universe?