Sorry, Adam Warlock fans, but the wait to see the Marvel Comics hero make his big screen debut is going to be longer than many may have hoped. Even though the character didn't appear in Avengers: Infinity War, many thought he may show up in Avengers 4 next year. Unfortunately, directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo have confirmed that they have no plans of including him in the final Phase 3 Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, either.

The Russo brothers have been continuing to make the press rounds following the release of Avengers: Infinity War, which has been breaking box office records left and right. Speaking to the possibility of Adam Warlock showing up in Avengers 4, Joe Russo made it crystal clear that he's not going to show up in the movie and explained their reasoning for excluding him from the story. Here's what he had to say about it.

"Yeah [Adam Warlock]'s not showing up in our stories. Look, our job as we said a million times is to tell the story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not to do direct adaptations of the comics because we're comic book fans. I have no interest as a director in telling a story that's already been told or in seeing one that's already been told. If I know all the events story as they're going to happen then what's the point of going to the film? We want to keep surprising audiences and continue the story that started with Iron Man [...] a decade ago."

Frustrating as that answer may be, it makes a good deal of sense. Adam Warlock was a major part of the Infinity Gauntlet storyline in the world of Marvel Comics, so there was reason to think he would show up in the movie. However, the Russo brothers aren't in the business of doing direct adaptations. While Infinity War took inspiration from the comics, it really was telling its own story.

What we know for sure is that Adam Warlock will show up in the MCU at some point. As for when that may be? That seems to be the million dollar question. James Gunn included a post-credits scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 that hinted at Adam Warlock's arrival to the MCU at some point, but there is no real indication as to when that may be. While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is still possible, Gunn has made it clear that there weren't plans to include him in the upcoming sequel when the post-credit scene was cooked up. It was just a fun tease of things to come.

Originally, Avengers: Infinity War did include Adam Warlock, at a much earlier stage, but he was cut. Ultimately, Doctor Strange more or less filled the role that Warlock would have occupied, in a somewhat loose way. Phase 4 of the MCU may very well bring us Adam Warlock, but just don't expect to see him in Avengers 4. That door is closed. This news comes to us courtesy of Comicbook.com.