In one of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's many post-credits scenes, Adam Warlock's MCU debut was teased when the Sovereign vowed to destroy the Guardians by creating a perfect shoulder.
The character has a solid supporting role in the recently released Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, though we quickly learned in the threequel he'd emerged from his cocoon far too soon. As a result, his mind was a tad immature and that really annoyed his true maker, The High Evolutionary.
They only shared the screen once, but with Will Poulter cast as the cosmic hero, the MCU has gained one of its most exciting new characters. When all was said and done, Adam realised there was a different approach to life than what he'd been created for, and ultimately joined Rocket Raccoon's Guardians of the Galaxy.
However, it appears a much different interpretation of the character was considered early in Vol. 3's production.
"I got to do some early designs for Adam Warlock for Guardians of the Galaxy," concept artist Jerad S. Marantz explains on his ArtStation account. "It’s always such a huge honor working with the team over at Marvel visual development."
"Big thank you to Andy Park for bringing me on for this incredible project. The final design for Adam Warlock was done by my good friend Constantine Sekiris."
This Adam would have clearly been quite a bit different to Poulter's version and looks more in line with The Boys' Homelander than the slightly goofy take we saw in Vol. 3. Perhaps a little more regal and older, we wonder if this was an earlier idea for the movie that would have given Warlock a different type of role in this story.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now playing in theaters.