'Guardians Vol. 2' Director Says One Easter Egg Was a Mistake

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is loaded with hints and Easter eggs referencing obscure characters beyond the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy. Sometimes, those minor characters eventually make proper appearances, as one of the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’s post-credits scenes goes to show. But, director James Gunn says he made a mistake when he first teased the character in an earlier movie.

Minor spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 to follow.

In a post-credits scene in Vol. 2, Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) gazes upon her newest creation to destroy the Guardians of the Galaxy: a being she has named “Adam.” It’s none other than Adam Warlock, a pivotal Marvel character who led the charge against Thanos in The Infinity Gauntlet (although “Adam” will not be in next year’s Avengers: Infinity War).

But while this scene confirms Adam Warlock, the character was previously teased as an Easter egg in 2013’s Thor: The Dark World, in a mid-credits scene directed by Gunn. In the Collector’s museum, Adam Warlock’s cocoon is spotted as one of the Collector’s prized relics, alongside a Chitauri soldier and Howard the Duck. Now, in an interview with IGN, director James Gunn admits inserting Adam Warlock’s cocoon — or at least, something that looks like it — was a “mistake.”

“I made a mistake in the first one, because I put something that looks like Adam Warclok’s cocoon in the Collector’s museum,” he said. “For me, at the time, I was just making up fun stuff to put in the Collector’s museum. I didn’t know how seriously people were gonna take the Easter eggs.” This being the MCU, it was inevitable fans would pour over every detail with a fine-toothed comb.

Although it took three or four years, Adam Warlock is coming to the MCU. See Gunn’s interview here:

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is in theaters now.