'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAb/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAF/9oADAMBAAIQAxAAAACOqAxr/8QAJhAAAQIEAwkAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgMEAAURIwEGJBITFBYhMVFhcv/aAAgBAQABPwBTM0xkWT2Ys+GSMxblabiNvoY4bXmtK/PuOZn7vUrNZRvFrhaAO+Mf/8QAGBEBAQADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQMAAkH/2gAIAQIBAT8AtCe0gTrn/8QAGBEAAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQMAAhL/2gAIAQMBAT8AS2+yZ//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Guardians 3 introduced us to another great MCU villain with the High Evolutionary. For a change, we got a bad guy that was pure evil! He didn’t care about others. He didn’t have a motivation that would find him sympathy from the viewers. His actions made people hate him even more, and that’s what made Chukwudi Iwuji’s performance praiseworthy.
But with the ending of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, people were left wondering whether the High Evolutionary was alive because Rocket showed some empathy and decided not to kill him. But since his whole rig blew up, his fate was left hanging in the balance.
However, there was one blink-and-you-’ll-miss-it moment in the film that most viewers did not catch, and it reveals exactly what happened with the big bad villain after the Guardians left him.
Guardians 3 ending reveals how the High Evolutionary survived
After the Guardians’ onslaught against the High Evolutionary, Rocket had the chance to take him down. But despite all the evil acts of the villain, Rocket decided against killing his creator.
He decided to save everyone, including the animals on the rig, and among them, there was a shot where Drax carried the High Evolutionary out of his exploding rig to Knowhere.
This was pointed out by The Direct, and James Gunn himself confirmed it to be true. He further revealed that the evil maniac was imprisoned on Knowhere. He stated:
"Yes! It’s the whole culmination of Rocket’s journey. His shift comes in that he doesn’t kill him - he goes from being the least empathetic to the most empathetic Guardian.”
It wasn’t a Dark Knight-like act from Batman Begins where he refused to kill Ra’s Al Ghul but also decided against saving him.
The director continued:
“It seems silly & hollow that he’d refuse to kill him & then leave him on an exploding ship. And, yes, there is a deleted scene. It’s really great actually but it messed up the pacing of the end. But you’ll see it in the extras eventually."
The deleted scene on Knowhere would surely be seen in the coming weeks when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 releases on digital HD, and eventually on Disney+.
What’s next for the High Evolutionary?
Considering that Chukwudi Iwuji’s big villain turned out to be such a great character, it was a smart move for Gunn to keep him alive and give Marvel to bring him back in future stories. We may not see it happen for a while but his knowledge in creating new species and planets could certainly come in handy.
Just in case Kang needs to be recast after Jonathan Majors’ recent charges, MCU fans have also pitched to turn the High Evolutionary into Earth-616’s Kang variant.
That way, many variants from the Council of Kangs could simply be played by Chukwudi Iwuji, and the beaten-up High Evolutionary from Guardians 3 could also join the group if Marvel decides to take that route.
But if not that, then Marvel could simply surprise us by putting him somewhere we would never expect.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently playing in theaters worldwide.
