Will Poulter Breaks Silence on Adam Warlock Casting in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

On Monday, Marvel Studios officially announced it had cast Will Poulter as Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Director James Gunn confirmed the news, welcoming Poulter on Twitter. Poulter is known for his roles in films like We're the Millers, which earned him BAFTA's Rising Star Award in 2013. Poulter beat other notable actors to get the part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including Bridgerton breakout Rege-Jean Page. Now the star has made his first comment since the news broke. On Twitter, Poulter responded to Gunn's tweet, writing back, "Thank you, James. It's a genuine honour to play this role and to work with you. I'm very excited to get to work."

Poulter first garnered attention for playing Eustace Scrubb in the 2010 film adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Since then, he's appeared in a varied array of popular or critically acclaimed productions. His credits include dystopian YA adaptation The Maze Runner and its sequel, Maze Runner: The Death Cure, period piece The Revenant, crime drama Detroit, Netflix's interactive sci-fi film Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and A24's folk horror hit Midsommar.

Poulter had been cast in Amazon's upcoming Lord of the Rings series but dropped out of the project before it entered production due to a scheduling conflict. Whether that conflict involved filming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is unknown.

Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created the character that would become Adam Warlock in 1967. He first appeared in Fantastic Four #66 but was a relatively minor player in Lee and Kirby's ongoing Fantastic Four saga. Roy Thomas and Gil Kane reworked the character into the cosmic messiah figure most know him as in 1972's Marvel Premiere #1, endowing him with the Adam Warlock name. Adam is best known for his role in The Infinity Gauntlet and its sequels under the writing of Jim Starlin. In that saga, he often worked from afar to counteract Thanos' attempts to gain the power of the Infinity Gems (now known as the Infinity Stones).

Some fans were surprised that Adam Warlock, teased at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, played no role in Avengers: Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame, both inspired by The Infinity Gauntlet. Gunn was upfront about the tease at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 having nothing to do with the Avengers movies. Still, he played coy about whether the character would appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

What do you think about Poulter playing Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3? Let us know in the comments. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will open in theaters on May 5, 2023.