Will Poulter joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

It's been announced that the versatile British actor Will Poulter is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The star of The Maze Runner, The Revenant and Detroit is joining James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as Adam Warlock, confirms Deadline. Does that name ring a bell? That's because the character was teased in the post-credits stinger of 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

 

 

The news was later shared by Gunn on Instagram, as he prepares to add another familiar face to his Guardians family. Poulter will be joining Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Debicki.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by James Gunn (@jamesgunn)

 

Marvel Comics character Adam was originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, first appearing in Fantastic Four #66–67 (cover-dates September 1967 and October 1967) and Thor #163–166 (April–July 1969).

In the comics, Adam was created by human scientists and possessed extraordinary cosmic powers. However, the Guardians Vol. 2 teaser promised a tweak to his origins. At the end of the movie, we see Debicki's character Ayesha, leader of the alien race the Sovereigns, as she unveils a mysterious programme for genetic engineering. She then explains: "Every citizen is born exactly as designed by the community... Impeccable, both physically and mentally. We control the DNA of our progeny, germinating them in birthing pods." Said pod is then revealed, which houses the unseen "Adam", as she dubs him.

Whether the movie version of Adam will be a force of good or evil remains to be seen. Either way, here's hoping the film puts Poulter's famously expressive eyebrows to good use. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 marks Gunn's return to the Marvel fold – initially fired from the movie, he then jumped ship to DC to helm The Suicide Squad. In the wake of Gunn's firing and rehiring, and then all the chaos wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the film has been pushed back from its initial release date to May 2023.

 

 

It's therefore likely that the movie will act as a cornerstone of Marvel Phase Five, a phase also set to introduce a brand new Blade movie starring Mahershala Ali. Gunn starts filming next month, and if the prospect of waiting until 2023 seems to much, console yourself with the arrival of Marvel's Eternals on 5th November. Check out the trailer below.