James Gunn Compares Adam Warlock Delay To Thanos' Buildup

James Gunn has offered his defense for the delayed introduction of Adam Warlock is part of Phase 4.

Knowing Warlock will debut in Phase 4 is hardly surprising considering how much he's been hinted at both on and off screen. The post-credits scene of an ancient Sovereign cocoon and not one housing Warlock. That can't be said about the one seen in one of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's many end credits scenes, however, as that moment definitively introduced the nascent version of Warlock to the MCU. But with word that the character won't be showing up in the near future, some have wondered what the point of the scene was.

When a fan posed the question to Avengers: Infinity War's success.

As Gunn points out, Thanos was teased all the way back in The Avengers before truly debuting in Guardians of the Galaxy. Even then, it wasn't until this year's Avengers 3 that he finally got his due. While some worried it wouldn't be worth the build-up, Josh Brolin's performance as Thanos has been hailed as one of the film's highlights. For the average moviegoer, the Adam Warlock teases don't mean much, but even fans have to it there's something satisfying about the character slowly being seeded in the MCU before making his big debut.

For now, we know Adam Warlock isn't in Guardians of the Galaxy 3, either, meaning even the early part of Phase 4 won't feature the character. But we've heard for awhile now that the cosmic side of the MCU will be expanding in the coming years and there's little doubt that Warlock will eventually be a part of that.

Though we don't know much about what will follow Avengers 4 to learn more about the future of the MCU, but expect Adam Warlock to be a big part of it—once he's finally revealed.