James Gunn discusses MCU regrets about Thor and Adam Warlock, detailing how creative clashes with Marvel’s direction influenced his decisions on the Guardians of the Galaxy films. In a candid interview, Gunn explained his frustrations over being encouraged to include Thor and Adam Warlock in the storyline, revealing the creative difficulties he faced as writer-director, particularly during his last projects with Marvel Studios.
Disputes Over Thor’s Role in Guardians of the Galaxy
While promoting his upcoming Superman film and confirming a post-credit scene for it, James Gunn reflected on his experiences with Marvel’s approach to intertwining storylines and characters. He revealed that Marvel expected Thor to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after the narrative thread created at the end of Avengers: Endgame, but Gunn did not support this decision.
“I said in the script notes: ‘I’m not gonna put him in. I don’t want to have Thor in the Guardians,’”
—James Gunn, writer-director
Gunn expressed an inability to connect with Thor as a character, explaining his discomfort with integrating him meaningfully in the Guardians franchise.
“I don’t want to do a movie with Thor. I don’t understand the character that much. I love watching his movies and I love Chris Hemsworth as a guy. I don’t understand how to write that character.”
—James Gunn, writer-director
Despite Marvel’s intentions for a crossover, Gunn firmly resisted, electing to preserve his vision for the Guardians’ final chapter. As a result, Taika Waititi later addressed the narrative transition, bringing the Guardians into the start of Thor: Love and Thunder instead.
Struggles with the Adam Warlock Storyline
Gunn also looked back on his decision to set up Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, a move he later regretted. He found it challenging to incorporate the character meaningfully in the third installment and questioned the rationale behind the forced setup.
“I did not like what I did in Guardians 2 where we set up Adam Warlock, and we set up the Guardians of the Galaxy, and we set up all this s— that I didn’t necessarily plan on,”
—James Gunn, writer-director
He likened the task to
“fitting a square peg into a round hole,”
signaling just how out of place the storyline felt within his original vision for the trilogy.
According to Gunn, crafting a substantial arc for Adam Warlock ultimately became a source of frustration, and accommodating Marvel’s expectations came at the expense of his preferred creative process.
The Impact of Post-Credit Scene Expectations
Beyond character-specific disputes, Gunn critiqued Marvel’s heavy reliance on post-credit scenes to tease future stories, sharing his unease over how such setups can complicate storytelling when they are not planned from the outset.
“Well, I guess I kind of planned on fulfilling that [Adam Warlock] promise, but you want to be careful about that. The way a post-credits scene works is a punch to the face, like, ‘Oh my God! Look at this,’”
—James Gunn, writer-director
He cautioned that when post-credit scenes exist solely to establish new plot threads, filmmakers may undermine their own stories.
“At times when you’re using it just solely to set something up, sometimes you’re screwing yourself over. It was not easy to work Adam Warlock into Guardians 3. I loved working with Will, and I liked dealing with the character, but at the end of the day, was he kind of fitting a weird square peg into a round hole? A little bit, yeah.”
—James Gunn, writer-director
Though Adam Warlock eventually joined the lineup in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Gunn admitted he would have approached the narrative differently had he been given full freedom from the beginning. The lack of autonomy, paired with Marvel’s insistence on character introductions and crossovers, left Gunn feeling constrained as he wrapped up the Guardians trilogy.
With James Gunn’s Superman set to arrive in theaters on July 11, his reflections on his time with Marvel shed light on the challenges and creative tensions faced by filmmakers when balancing studio expectations with their vision. The long-term fate of Adam Warlock and the Guardians franchise remains uncertain, influenced by the choices and reservations Gunn has openly shared.
