Will Adam Warlock be in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?’

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been a long time coming.

Five years and 15 Marvel movies have passed since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was released in 2017. By the time Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 comes out, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania will have also premiered, bringing the total to 16 movies. It’s a different Marvel Cinematic Universe out there than it was when the Guardians last saved the day. Thanos is now gone, but a new threat looms on the horizon, one that was specifically created for the Guardians’ demise. Enter: Adam Warlock. 

The last time we saw the heroic bunch, they successfully retrieved Gamora’s (Zoe Saldana) sister, Nebula (Karen Gillan), as part of a bounty for completing a task for High Priestess Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki), the leader of the gold-skinned Sovereign race. In doing so, the Guardians make an enemy out of them after Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) steals some batteries and gets Ayesha’s entire fleet destroyed. By the post-credit scene we learn that Ayesha is not only furious but also has a new plan in place to kill the Guardians, something far more powerful and specifically created just for their demise. That’s when we see a gold cocoon-like birthing pod and learn that Adam Warlock is inside it. 

That, my child, is the next step in our evolution. More powerful, more beautiful, more capable of destroying the Guardians of the Galaxy. I think shall call him… Adam.

Will the Guardians face off against Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?

Adam Warlock was first teased in the post-credit scene of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which famously touted a whopping five post-credit scenes, all of which served as guideposts for where the MCU would take the Guardians next. From Nebula to teen Groot all the way to the gold-skinned Ayesha, the post-credit scenes whetted appetites five years in the making. Now the time has come to follow through on them, and yes, that includes Adam Warlock. 

In the official trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, we finally see Adam Warlock in action, played by MCU newcomer Will Poulter. Even though we don’t see much, we do see Warlock go in on Nebula, delivering a heavy blow to her face before the camera cuts away to Mantis crying over something (or someone) in her lap. 

While Adam Warlock will definitely be in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the trailer seems to indicate that the movie’s main villain will be The High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), an all-intelligent scientist who not only created Rocket but who is also acutely obsessed with making the perfect human race. That being said, Adam Warlock will likely have a big part to play as well, especially since his sole purpose for being is to destroy the Guardians.

In the comics, Adam Warlock has a multi-compartmental brain that gives him the ability of cosmic awareness. He also has “superhuman strength, stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes,” according to Marvel.

Adam Warlock will make his MCU debut when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 releases in theaters on May 5, 2023.