Ever since he was teased in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we’ve known that Adam Warlock is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with the general expectation being that he would officially debut in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Not only has that now been confirmed, we also know who will play him in the threequel. Detroit actor Will Poulter has been cast as the MCU’s Adam Warlock, and now we have an idea of what he could look like in Guardians 3.
With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 not coming out for a little over a year and a half, obviously it’ll be a while until we get an official look at Will Poulter as Adam Warlock. That said, when Marvel casts a major character, it doesn’t take long for fan art of the actor in the role to surface. Adam Warlock was no exception, with Instagram user _artkin_ putting together the below mock-up of how they think Poulter might look bringing the character to life:
As noted in the caption, this mock-up of Will Poulter as Adam Warlock combines elements of “literally every outfit he’s worn in the comics,” which is a good way to cover ground when you have no idea what will specifically inspire Adam’s appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Maybe Poulter’s Adam will look relatively close to his comics counterpart, or maybe, like some of the other Guardians characters, bigger creative liberties will be taken with his look. For now though, this is a solid envisioning of the MCU’s Adam Warlock, someone we’ve been waiting to see for four and a half years and counting.
For those who need a refresher, one of the scenes that played during Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’s credits showed Elizabeth Debicki’s Ayesha, leader of the Sovereign people, revealing that she’d created an artificial being named Adam who she will use to destroy the Guardians. Presumably Will Poulter’s Adam will attempt to carry out that directive in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, only for something to happen that leads to him becoming an ally to these cosmic superheroes. On the other hand, given that the comics version of Adam has a dark side known as The Magus, it’s entirely possible will remain an antagonist, at least for Guardians 3.
With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s plot shrouded in secrecy, it’s difficult to predict what’s in store for Adam Warlock, but needless to say that this is a big opportunity for Will Poulter, who’s the first new actor to be added to the threequel’s cast. Along with playing Phillip Krauss in Detroit, his other notable credits include two Maze Runner movies, The Revenant, Midsommar and Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. Poulter was also originally selected to play Pennywise the Dancing Clown in IT, but he ended up exiting and was replaced by Bill Skarsgård.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to begin filming sometime next month and will come out on May 6, 2023, five months after the arrival of Disney+’s Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Look through our Marvel movies guide to learn what else this superhero franchise is sending to theaters.
