There were a number of standouts and successes from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol, 3, in which James Gunn bid farewell to his rag-tag gang of dysfunctional heroes. One of the lesser discussed victories in the film, however, was the truly evil High Evolutionary, played icily and with suitable venom by Chukwudi Iwuji. At the film's conclusion, having kept a number of beings - animals and humans alike - prisoner for decades, Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) finally gets the better of his "creator", apparently leaving him to die on his ship as it explodes.
However, Gunn has now revealed via Twitter that we most likely have not seen the end of the High Evolutionary, responding to a message asking for the character's status. Gunn replied to the fan that the High Evolutionary was imprisoned on Knowhere, the Guardians' home, which is under the control and leadership of Nebula (Karen Gillan).
Bye, Evolutionary?
We've managed to build a picture of just what happened to the High Evolutionary in the aftermath of the Guardians' raid on his ship, thanks to a number of different sources. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 visual effects artist Miguel Ángel Acevedo Montserrat revealed during an interview that, although we don't see it clearly, the High Evolutionary was carried to safety by a silhouetted Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) as the Guardians cleared it. Iwuji, for his part, also revealed additional scenes had been shot that offered more clarification - although Gunn may well have trimmed them for pacing reasons. He spoke to ComicBook.com to discuss those scenes he shot:
"Well, let me just put it this way. I'm hoping you'll see an extended version or maybe an alternate ending, you know, that we certainly did film. I mean the whole point in Marvel is that unless you see someone die they haven't necessarily died and even if they do die what does that mean in the multiverse, right? But, the point is that Rocket doesn't shoot me. They make a point of saying why don't you kill him and he says no, I'm not going to kill him. And you don't actually see me go down with the ship. So, I'll just leave it at that."
Gunn's revelation this evening is good news for Iwuji - and fans too. His character was a top-tier Marvel villain, truly detestable without being overly likeable and certainly not the type of villain who we can easily see "softening". Given the current state of affairs over the next big Marvel villain, keeping their bad guys on the board is nothing if not a sensible move.
Check out our interview with Chukwudi Iwuji and Will Poulter for Guardians down below.