After a long delay Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is finally in production. Originally set to open the new phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the new movie is now set to continue the adventure of our Guardian friends next year. With them will come some new actors in the franchise playing new characters. Chukwudi Iwuji will play one of those new characters and he’s teasing a performance he’s calling quite powerful.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will see the inclusion of a few new actors playing new roles in the MCU. In some cases, like with Will Poulter, who will portray Adam Warlock, we know who is playing who. However, in the case of Chukwudi Iwuji, the shroud of mystery is being kept in place, at least for now. He won’t say who he’s playing but he tells THR his character is complex, but also powerful. Iwuji says…
Powerful. (Laughs.) Extremely powerful. Complex. James and I were talking about it, but he's certainly one of, if not the most complex characters we've seen in the freaking Marvel universe. So he's deeply complex and deeply powerful, and I hope intriguing. I hope I bring that to it.
Chukwudi Iwuji says he was literally speechless when James Gunn asked him to be in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it was apparently while filming the opening sequence for Peacemaker that Gunn made the ask, Iwuji says he was literally dancing on a soundstage before Gunn called him over and recruited him to the movie.
James Gunn had apparently already spoken to Kevin Feige about casting the actor, and the MCU producer was on board, Screen tests were done, but it sounds like they were mostly formalities because Gunn knew who and what he wanted.
But what we’ll see on the screen next year is still anybody’s guess. The character is apparently powerful, but that alone could mean many things. He could be physically strong or he could be a character who has amassed political power that the Guardians will need to navigate. The fact that this mystery character is as complex as he is powerful is potentially more interesting. Most characters in Marvel movies aren’t necessarily the most complex, but neither are they entirely simplistic.
Odds are the character in question is one that exists somewhere in Marvel’s comic book universe but there are so many characters to choose from, picking one out based on this simple description is impossible. And we can’t know for sure that this isn’t a wholly original character.
We’ll likely learn more when the first trailer arrives for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Unfortunately, since the movie won’t be arriving until May of next year, it will likely be the end of 2022, perhaps when the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is released, before we see much from the new movie. Who knows, maybe the character being played by Iwuji will actually debut there.
