Months after Will Poulter broke his silence on playing Adam Warlock, he hasn’t revealed much about his character outside of speaking about his diet and training to get ripped. While Poulter has been quiet about the character, one question has still loomed… how did the rising Hollywood star land the role of a Marvel fan favorite? Well, the Emmy nominee has finally opened up about auditioning for the space-traveling superhero.
The Midsommar actor was known for his smaller comedic and dramatic work outside of the Maze Runner franchise. But taking on the beloved Marvel character was unfamiliar territory for Will Poulter. While the role likely is the biggest of his career so far, Poulter was surprisingly unfamiliar with Adam Warlock before auditioning for Marvel. The upcoming Hollywood star spilled to The Playlist about the audition process he went through before landing the character.
I first auditioned in June of last year [2021], and that was the first time I auditioned, and then I kind of got the role in September, I think. And then started shooting in December…I didn’t know what character, initially, I was auditioning for. I kind of knew sort of closer to the time [of casting] who I was reading for. Although I wasn’t familiar with Adam Warlock beforehand, I was very familiar with ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ and it was kind of my favorite ‘planet’ within the Marvel universe, if you like.
Of course, Will Poulter wouldn’t be the first MCU star to know which character they’re auditioning for (or completely forgetting they were in Marvel movies at all). it was understandable Poulter didn’t know much about Adam Warlock given the character isn’t all well known as the Avengers, X-Men, or Spider-Man. Of course, the Marvel diehards knew about the superhero, but the general audience isn’t as familiar with him.
While Poulter may not have been familiar with Warlock, he was a huge fan of James Gunn’s work. Upon receiving the Gunn-penned Vol.3 script, the Maze Runner star loved the director’s tone and creativity. But it wasn’t just reading Gunn’s script that made him sign up for the Guardians Vol.2 sequel as he spilled why he was so grateful to play the god-like superhero.
I’m just a huge fan of the tone and the creativity and James Gunn’s work and so many of the actors, you know, that I now get to call colleagues, which I’m very grateful for. So yeah, to have any kind of part in that world is very, very cool for me.
Poulter’s praise of James Gunn and the Guardians cast makes the threequel sound more formidable. It seemed like Will Poulter had fun working with the cast and crew. The experience was so good he even expressed his gratitude for being part of Gunn’s film.
Signing up with Marvel usually means a multi-year film deal, but things are still up in the air for Adam Warlock, according to Will Poulter. The 29-year-old actor admitted he was unsure about his future with the MCU as he and the studios wait to hear fans’ reception to the cosmic superhero. Poulter mentioned he would love to continue Warlock’s MCU journey once Guardians Vol. 3 arrives. He already explained Warlock will be working things out in the threequel as he deals with finding himself.
Marvel fans will have to wait until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hits theaters on May 5, 2023, to see what will happen in Adam Warlock’s MCU debut. There is a plethora of upcoming Marvel movies, including Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, for viewers to watch in the meantime. You can look into upcoming movies to see what else is coming out in 2022.
