Will Poulter revealed that he initially had no idea which Marvel character he was auditioning for in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The actor was only told near the end of the casting process that he would be embodying the role of Marvel's cosmic hero Adam Warlock.
"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," the actor said in an interview with The Playlist. "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."
Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, Adam Warlock debuted across Fantastic Four #66 and #67 in 1967, where he was unnamed and referred to only as "Him." He was reintroduced as Adam Warlock in 1972's Marvel Premiere #1 by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane. The character became a crucial part of the Marvel Universe's cosmic side and played a significant role in the various Infinity storylines. The character was briefly teased in one of the post-credits scenes of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 when Sovereign High Priestess Ayesha revealed his cocoon, inspired by his original Fantastic Four introduction.
The news that Poulter was cast as Adam Warlock broke in Oct. 2021. The actor recently detailed the strict diet and workout regime he had to go on after joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "It’s been a lot of gym work and a very, very specific diet," he said in April 2022. "Quantities of food you wouldn’t necessarily want to ingest. And other times not enough food. I’ve gone through a series of different diets over the last few months. Now I’m in a maintenance phase, which is quite nice...I’ve gone through periods of looking at food and feeling like I can’t face it, and then you blink and the next minute you’re ready to eat furniture because you’re so hungry."
Production wrapped on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in May 2022, but during filming, writer/director James Gunn praised Poulter's performance as Warlock, believing audiences will quickly throw their support behind the new MCU character. "He's the best, Gunn said of the actor. "He's killing it. People are going to really love Adam -- or love? They're going to appreciate Adam Warlock, I'll say."
In addition to Poulter, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sean Gunn and Sylvester Stallone. The film is scheduled to open in theaters on May 5, 2023.
Source: The Playlist