As it turns out, the surprise reveal at the end of Guardians 3 wasn’t what viewers were expecting.
The third installment in the Guardians franchise, starring Tsugumi Yuji as the Marvel villain High Evolutionary, centering on James Gunn’s merry band of alien misfits.
Dubbed “the easiest Marvel villain to hate,” Iwuji’s big experimental villain is known for abusing Rocket Raccoon and his other animal friends. Due to this behavior, this character has attracted the audience.
Because of this, MCU fans around the world cheered when the character was assumed to have died at the end of the film.
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A Surprise in Guardians of the Galaxy 3
Miguel Ángel Acevedo Montserrat, VFX artist for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, a significant surprise related to Chukwudi Iwuji’s high evolution was hidden in the film but certainly overlooked.
In Guardians 3, Montserrat, who worked at the time the animal swarm leaves Ared Labs, told the Marvel strip that Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer will be seen transporting and protecting the High Evolutionary.
Although Iwuji’s MCU nemesis wasn’t outright revealed to be dying on screen like some of the franchise’s other main villains, he was presumed dead after his gruesome research facility exploded.
The announcement follows weeks of fan rumors that he will appear in the upcoming High Evolutionary Superpowers series.
In an interview with Comicbook.com’s Face Zero podcast, Iwuji himself addressed the High Evolutionary’s survival, joking, “You didn’t actually see me get off the ship:”.
Shall I say this? I hope you can see the extended version or alternate ending because we did film it after all. All that matters is that the rocket didn’t hit me. When asked why he doesn’t kill him, he replies, “No, I’m not going to kill him.” You don’t see me go down with the ship. I’ll leave it like that.
Will the MCU see High Evolutionary?
While the MCU’s highly evolved era is presumably coming to an end, this new reveal suggests that anything is possible.
While no one is truly dead in the world of Marvel Studios’ super-powered characters, this little fact clearly indicates that Guardians 3 villain Chugwoodi Yuuji may still exist.
The great evolutionist dies before his research facility explodes, in which case Drax only carries the body of the film’s main antagonist. Still, it’s pretty funny considering the bad guy could still be alive when Ared is removed from the labs.
James Gunn, the director, described the character as a “brutal MCU villain”, but he was appreciated by fans and praised as one of the best in the franchise’s more than 15-year history.
The High Evolutionary is set to return as a member of a larger evil team in the upcoming MCU Avengers team movies.
It’s unknown if the High Evolutionary will return in any capacity, but this buried Easter egg seems entirely intentional to leave the possibility of an MCU return at some point in the future.
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