James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently in production, and the cast will consist of a few newcomers to the MCU. Among them is Chukwudi Iwuji, who currently plays Clemson Murn in Gunn's Peacemaker, and the actor recently discussed how he landed a role in Marvel Studios' Vol. 3.
Before filming started on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Gunn wrote and completed shooting on Peacemaker in time for a January 2022 debut on HBO Max. The series stars John Cena as the eponymous character, a role he first played in Gunn's The Suicide Squad, and Iwuji's Murn is the leader of Project Butterfly, the mission Peacemaker finds himself being roped into.
It appears Gunn and Iwuji had a great time working together on Peacemaker, as the actor was officially announced as a new cast member for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 when filming on the latter started. During an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Iwuji revealed that Gunn first approached him about joining the Vol. 3 cast when they were shooting the dance number for the Peacemaker opening credits. As Iwuji recalls, Gunn invited him to watch footage of the take they had shot for the dance number, adding that Gunn also asked to speak with him for a moment. Iwuji jokingly aksed Gunn if he was about to be told that he was going to be replaced by Doctor Strange star Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Fortunatley, Gunn instead offer him a role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which resulted in both a new acting job and fond memories of that day for Iwuji. While Iwuji did not name the character he will be playing, his gestures during the interview implied that he was keeping quiet, but the role was made clear to him when Gunn made the offer. Iwuji remained tight-lipped about the role, but he did reveal that it couldn't be more different from Clemson Murn, and it also allowed him to make use of his background in classical theatre. Gunn himself added that Iwuji has been "fantastic" in Vol. 3 and everyone involved has been "blown away" by the actor.
From the sounds of it Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will have several characters, old and new, to explore. Chief among them is Will Poulter's Adam Warlock, a powerful character from the comics whose introduction to the MCU was first teased in one of Vol. 2's post-credits scenes.
Still, there's no doubt that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will focus on the core cast of characters fans were introduced to in the first film. After all, Gunn has stated that Vol. 3 will be his conclusion to the Guardians story, and it seems at least some original cast members intend to say goodbyes to their characters with this third chapter.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is scheduled to be released in theaters on May 5, 2023.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes
