Upon its release in 2023, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was greeted like the Messiah. After the disappointing Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and Thor: Love and Thunder, James Gunn's saga reminded us of the heyday of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, when the franchise captivated audiences and box office hit record highs.
By immortalizing the post-Endgame era for Peter Quill, Drax, Mantis, and especially Rocket, the man who will soon unveil his Superman at DC offered the perfect conclusion to his decade of loyal service at Marvel (with a few hiccups, though). But not everything was perfect, especially for a character that viewers had long hoped to see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Introduced in a post-credits scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Adam Warlock was much less powerful than expected. This was due primarily to his young age—he had only just emerged from his crate when the narration began—but also, and more importantly, to Kevin Feige's showing of all his cards before the Guardians' return.
Faults at Marvel and Disney
The development of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 wasn't exactly smooth sailing. After the success of the first two installments, released in 2014 and 2017 respectively, Marvel intended to continue with a final film. But old tweets from the director were unearthed, and Disney doesn't appreciate the posts. James Gunn is fired by force. As a result, Guardians 3 is postponed indefinitely, and this change disrupts Kevin Feige and his team's plans. Even with James Gunn rehired, Adam Warlock won't be able to arrive before Infinity War and Endgame. In theory, his late appearance is rather convenient for the writers of the last Avengers; the overpowering character played by Will Poulter could have been a hindrance, as was Captain Marvel in his time. But the finale of Endgame wipes out the idea of him being seen in full possession of his faculties. In the comics, Adam Warlock is one of the few characters to wield an Infinity Stone. Like Vision, it is present on his forehead and grants him much more powerful powers. In the MCU, after Thanos' defeat, the stones were destroyed, and the High Priestess was unable to entrust it to him. The character in the film does have a stone on his forehead, but this detail is never mentioned in the narration.
Worse, he merely plays a secondary threat to a much more frightening High Evolutionary. Once the introduction is over, which nonetheless immortalized his destructive power, Warlock will only be a comic relief and a budding ally for Peter Quill, Mantis, Drax, and Gamora. We expected better, but we readily forgive the film, as the pleasure of seeing the heroes again and learning more about Rocket is enough.
Could Warlock return?
For now, Adam Warlock is not promised a film or series. However, the new generation of Guardians of the Galaxy could very quickly return to action. At least, that's what a post-credits scene in the film suggested. The character is now on the team, under Rocket's command. Remember that, for his part, Peter is still on Earth and could be called upon to confront the threat of Doctor Doom in Doomsday. If things turn sour, he might want to count on the help of his old and new companions. Will Poulter is not on the list of invited actors for Doomsday, but the cast is not complete.
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