Marvel fans have been waiting to see cosmic hero Adam Warlock in the MCU for years now. And though it still hasn’t happened yet, at least Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 promised that he was on his way, as one of its post-credits scenes featured Ayesha of the Sovereign creating a being called “Adam” in a high-tech cocoon.
The only problem with this is that we thought we’d already seen his cocoon in the franchise. Back in the first Guardians of the Galaxy – and also briefly glimpsed in Thor: The Dark World‘s final scene – a grubbier, more organic version of the cocoon could be seen as part of the Collector’s collection on Knowhere. So, how can this be explained?
Ever on hand to answer his fans’ questions, Guardians writer/director James Gunn replied to an individual yesterday who enquired about the earlier form of Adam’s cocoon. Gunn succinctly explained that this did not contain the character and was merely an ancient version of the Sovereign’s cocoons.
It’s unclear exactly how the director will bring Adam into the fold in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – though he’s not even ready to confirm that he’ll be part of the threequel to begin with. Certainly, his origins have already been changed, as Ayesha appears to be creating him as a weapon to use against the Guardians. As such, we wonder if he’ll start out as a villain before joining the Star-Lord and co.’s side, as per the comics.
Of course, the most obvious place to insert Adam Warlock into the MCU would have been in Avengers: Infinity War or its sequel, Avengers 4. After all, in the comics, Adam is the guardian of the Soul Stone and is a significant help to Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in defeating Thanos once he claims all six Infinity Stones. The Russos have revealed that they considered introducing him here, but ultimately decided against pushing their luck and adding yet another hero into the mix.
As such, it seems he’ll be held back until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arrives in May 2020.