Be advised of some minor spoilers ahead for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

I chatted with Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn this week about his plans for Adam Warlock, the cosmic comic book character slated to make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. (The filmmaker set-up the character in an end credits scene in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.)

Initially, Gunn had tried to include Adam Warlock in his treatment for Vol. 2, but said he eventually dropped the character for creative reasons. "It was in the original draft -- in the original treatment, before it even became a screenplay -- Adam Warlock was a major character," Gunn explained. "And the screenplay was just too busy, there were too many characters. And I couldn't do Nebula justice and Adam Warlock justice and have them both in there so I decided to save Adam for another day."

Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey was initially approached for a role in Guardians Vol. 2, which the actor turned down in favor of doing The Dark Tower. Gunn insists Adam Warlock wasn't that role. Indeed, Gunn deems McConaughey "too old" for his interpretation of Adam Warlock, which he referred to as essentially being "a baby" when he makes his screen debut.

"No, I mean, listen, I think McConaughey would be too old for the role of Adam Warlock. I get a lot of -- Adam Warlock is basically a baby because he's just being born," said Gunn. "So I get a lot of people giving me ideas for Adam Warlock online. I'm like, 'That guy's 65-years-old! How can you have him be Adam Warlock? He's a baby!' I got David Bowie all the time before David passed."

Gunn also insisted that his initial plan for the character in Vol. 2 may no longer be the same arc once he crafts the story for Vol. 3: "I think it would be giving away a little bit too much about where we're headed with all of that. And I will say that where Adam Warlock was in the treatment that I created may not be exactly the same as Adam Warlock is [in Vol. 3] because part of what a character is comes from the story they're serving and Vol. 2 is told. That story's done so it's where Adam's gonna be next, which is sometime after the next two Avengers movies."

While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 may still be years away, fans will get to see the Guardians back on the big screen next year in Marvel's The Avengers: Infinity War.

Be sure to check out our explainer piece on Adam Warlock, learn Gunn's thoughts on the Skrulls joining the MCU in Captain Marvel, and find out what you missed in that still-unreleased Infinity War footage screened at Comic-Con.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hits Digital HD and 4K Ultra HD on August 8 and 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on August 22.