Many fans have critiqued the quality of Marvel’s Phase 4 due to a drop in quality and over-saturation of the comic book movie market. However, MCU newcomer Will Poulter, who plays Adam Warlock in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, has defended the studio’s passion for the quality of its projects.
Fans critiquing Marvel’s Phase 4 has been nothing new. Black Widow put the phase on rocky footing with many fans, whose perceptions largely haven’t improved across the 17 MCU projects Marvel released between 2021 and 2022. Many fans point to the amount of projects as the issue, claiming Disney is pushing for quantity over quality. However, Guardians of the Galaxy newcomer and Adam Warlock actor Will Poulter has pushed back against the idea, insisting Marvel Studios is heavily invested in the quality of its projects:
“So, Marvel have been super supportive of that and they really, really do care about the quality,” He spoke in an interview with Josh Horowitz. “They’re not just looking to churn things out nilly-willy. I think the size of Marvel and the scope of their programming is so large that sometimes people can kind of, sort of confuse that for quantity over quality. But the folks at the top are, I mean, deeply and passionately invested in the quality of the material… James [Gunn] is a prime example of that.”
Fans have also criticized the MCU for “trapping” certain actors, keeping them in contracts and having them star in franchise films instead of other creative ventures. Horowitz pushed back against this by pointing to actors like Benedict Cumberbatch, who continues to have work outside of the MCU, to which Will Poulter agreed:
“Right, right,” Will continued. “Yeah, exactly. And I think, at the point that you have the Angela Bassett’s, and the Tilda Swinton’s, and the Jake Gyllenhaal’s of this world in these films, I think you have to assume that actors are given license creatively to go and explore other avenues, and do things that are in a different bracket.”
While fans are free to levy criticism on Marvel Studios for any number of creative fumbles in recent years, it seems as though its not an uncaring entity focused solely on profits, but people genuinely trying to tell the best stories they can with the constraints they’re given by Disney and the market. If Guardians of the Galaxy is any example, the MCU seems to have plenty of life left in it.
What to expect from the third Guadians movie
Written and directed by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Sean Gunn, Sylvester Stallone, Will Poulter, Chukwudi Iwuji and Maria Bakalova.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 synopsis reads as follows: “Our beloved band of misfits are settling into life on Knowhere, but it isn’t long before their lives are upended by the echoes of Rocket’s turbulent past. Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him on a dangerous mission to save Rocket’s life – a mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.”
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