Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will follow the Guardians as they adjust to the loss of Gamora and their new lives on Knowhere. While Peter Quill grieves, a threat from Rocket's past resurfaces, putting his life in danger. The Guardians must band together to protect one of their own when evil strikes close to home. However, if they fail, it could be the end of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

James Gunn returns to write and direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, completing his beloved trilogy. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 features an impressive returning cast led by Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Sean Gunn, and Maria Bakalova. Will Poulter and Chukwudi Iwuji join the Guardians cast as Adam Warlock and the High Evolutionary.

Related: GOTG 3's High Evolutionary Is The MCU's Real Thanos Replacement

Screen Rant spoke with Chukwudi Iwuji and Will Poulter about joining the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Iwuji gave new insight into the High Evolutionary, including how he approached the character's entitlement and playing a villain that is in no way sympathetic. Poulter explained Adam Warlock's journey, and both actors revealed with MCU characters they have the desire to interact with down the line.

Chukwudi Iwuji & Will Poulter on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Chukwudi Iwuji as the High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3

Screen Rant: You're welcome additions to this franchise. What a great bookend to James Gunn's journey of the MCU saga. Chuck, Marvel usually makes sure that the villains have these understandable motivations, like Thanos or Killmonger or Namor. But High Evolutionary isn't like that. What is it like to play a character who taps into the cruelest and truest evils?

Chukwudi Iwuji: So much fun! It is. I've used the word delicious, because it's like eating a really good meal and being surprised each time you're allowed to taste something else, and it's a safe environment to do it. Honestly, those are parts of your psyche that are fun to explore as an actor, because they're so far away from what I would ever do as a person. So, I had a great time.

And great point, picking up that we didn't want to spend time trying to make him the most sympathetic. This is what it is; this is his mission in life. My job is to hopefully do it in a way where people can see what he does for what he does, and still somehow want to see him come back on the screen. That's my job, and that's not to be done by watering him down; it's to be done by engaging people to live my truth so hard that it's engaging to watch. I love the challenge of him, and it was a joy.

Will, Adam Warlock is an extremely powerful but very young character. Can you talk to me about playing that dichotomy?

Will Poulter: Yeah, that was interesting. I suppose it was a dichotomy. I think [it's] the weight of responsibility that comes with being born into the Sovereign, with all these expectations hanging over your head and innate power beyond imagination, but without the kind of psychological or intellectual aptitude to be able to actually put it to good use or aim it in the right direction yet.

He's finding his way, and he's still on a journey of navigating himself and charting his path, both literally and also in a moral sense. And I love that. I think that that gave me the opportunity to play some humor and some drama, and I relish the chance to do both in a movie that I think does two things very well, in that sense.

Chuk, during the press conference, you mentioned the High Evolutionary was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. How did you infuse that air of wealth into the character, and why was that such an important part of him?

Chukwudi Iwuji: I just felt when I read the script that there was something so regal and entitled about this guy, and you always trying to associate it with adjectives that you're familiar with. There was a sense of entitlement with him; he has people call him sire — he's called the High Evolutionary, for crying out loud! This isn't someone that came from humble beginnings in his head.

So, that's what I mean. That doesn't really match up necessarily with the comic book history of this guy, but to make it the most dynamic and immediate, I had to have that sense of entitlement and extreme narcissism. So, that's where I took it from.

Warlock reminds me of the early days of the Guardians characters. How did it feel to go back to the root of these lesser-known characters that are extremely beloved, and where do you want to see that character go in the future?

Will Poulter: I'm thinking about it, and if I think about it, the origin of my character is a golden spoon in my mouth as well. You also are born with a sense of entitlement; an unproven and unearned privilege and status, and that's really interesting.

I don't know where he's headed. And if I did, I would tell you, honestly. But I don't. I'm very honored that he's a beloved character, and that fans have been excited to see him. I've just been wanting to try and do justice to what James wrote. I'm excited to try and hopefully take him on and explore his evolution, but I don't know exactly how that will look.

One thing I love about this film is that James really does make this feel like a comic book story arc, where he wrote all three of these volumes and his run is over. What was it like on set knowing that this was going to be his final chapter?

Chukwudi Iwuji : It's weird because everyone expects that it affected how the set was. I can't imagine, having worked with them before, that it was really any different — apart from the usual enthusiastic, subversive, hilarious, slightly crazy, but very focused work environment that he created. I think that overarching thing of knowing this was the last one made it more emotional for members of the cast. But on the day-to-day, there were targets that had to be hit, and there were hit in a typically James Gunn fashion.

In the MCU, your characters are brand new, although one appeared in a post-credit scene in Vol. 2. Who would you like to see your characters interact with from the MCU?

Will Poulter: Oh, my gosh. It's hard not to sound incredibly greedy. I'm pretty grateful for how it's gone so far, but I did mention earlier that I'm really desperate to try and work with Daniel Kaluuya. So, if I can cross over with the Black Panther cast, I would not be mad at that.

Chukwudi Iwuji : Again, this has been a real gift. But I do know in the history of the comics that I had quite an interaction with the Hulk. In fact, I think I pretty much beat the living daylights out of the Hulk. So, I think I'd like to do that. [Laughs]

James Gunn knows how to really write and tap into found family themes. Can you talk to me about what it was like working with him?

Chukwudi Iwuji : He's a genius! Honestly, for me, there was starting off working with him in Peacemaker, which is a very different experience. This is the guy that did Guardians, and it's scary, but it was a lot of fun from the start. It was very subversive, like I said, and very fun on set.

But coming into Guardians was a bit more of that, because at that point, I knew this guy trusted me and is giving me this. It's a real confidence booster to work with someone who could literally have anyone who wants to work with and chooses you. And it's always fun.

Will Poulter: We can be honest now, he just left. A real nightmare. [Laughs] It's an honor to work with someone who is that gifted creatively. But really, that wouldn't necessarily matter all that much if he wasn't such a great human being as well, and didn't hold himself and other people to a very high standard about how they treated their colleagues and the kind of set environment that they're trying to create. In that respect, he's as good of a guy as he is a creative, and that's the best thing I can say about him.

About Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Will Poulter as Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3

In the final chapter of the trilogy, the Guardians of the Galaxy are adjusting to life on Knowhere while Peter Quill is still reeling from the loss of Gamora. When a new threat from Rocket's past resurfaces, Peter rallies the Guardians to save one of their own and once again protect the universe. However, failure could mean the end of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

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