The first trailer for 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just dropped today, with promises of new adventures, a glimpse of the origins of Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) a.k.a. Star-Lord‘s continuing to grapple with the reality of the death of his love Gamora (Zoe Saldana). Another exciting scene from the trailer, however, is the payoff of tease first dropped five years ago in a post-credits scene in 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2:

Fans of Marvel Comics knew to whom the golden-skinned High Priestess Ayesha (played by Elizabeth Debicki) and leader of the Sovereign was referring. By the end of GOTG Vol. 2, she has lost much in her quest to wreak havoc and revenge on the Guardians for their sleights against the Sovereign. During the aforementioned credits scene, Ayesha vows that the Guardians of the Galaxy will still know her wrath, declaring that she is creating the perfect weapon to wield against the crew. As the camera pans to a gilded cocoon, Ayesha states that she will call the person within “Adam.”

Confirmed by director James Gunn, that Adam is Adam Warlock, who, in the comics, was also bred in a cocoon and has deep ties to Marvel cosmic lore. The artificially-grown character has connections to Thanos in the comics, first as an ally to battle the villainous Magus (an alternate reality version of Adam–long story) and later as an adversary against the purple-hued powerhouse’s mad grabs for universal domination.

One version of Adam Warlock as seen in Marvel Comics

However, with Adam not present in either Avengers: Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame, it was clear that, if Adam appeared in an MCU film, his path would take a different route. When actor Will Poulter (Dopesick) was confirmed to be cast as Adam in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, speculation abounded. Would he be friend or foe? Would Ayesha make good on her promise to use the artificially-grown character for revenge against the Guardians?

While we still don’t know his full role in Vol. 3, the trailer released today suggests that, at least for part of the film, Adam will act as a foil to the team. Here’s a frame-grab from the trailer for a first look at Poulter as Adam.

Poulter‘s Adam has the golden-skinned hue of the Sovereign as well as his comic book counterpart, as well as wearing red reminiscent of his look in Marvel‘s books. In Adam‘s four-colored adventures, he carried with him the Soul Gem (called the Soul Stone in the MCU), which rested on his forehead. With the Soul Stone destroyed in Endgame, it’s yet to be revealed what the stone on his head is in the trailer. Something to do with his birth? Or a way for Ayesha to control him? We’ll know when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 drops on May 5th, 2023.

And make sure you watch the full trailer below!