Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is being hailed as a return to form for the MCU. It harkens back to the franchise’s heyday, while also saying goodbye to the Guardians lineup we’ve come to know and love over the last decade. Part of what makes the film so effective, though, is its fantastic villain: the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji).
The character, who has a complicated and harrowing backstory with Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), stole nearly every scene he was in. While his motives for mass genocide may have been clear (at least, in his twisted mind), what was less clear is what happened to him at the end of the film. Did he perish, or did he live to see another day? Guardians VFX artist Miguel Ángel Acevedo Montserrat has the answer, so beware of heavy spoilers ahead!
The climactic fight between Rocket and the High Evolutionary resulted in the latter getting demolished. He not only took a few blaster shots to the chest, but he was beaten to a pulp by the rest of the Guardians right after. The fight ends with Gamorra (Zoe Saldana) ripping what’s left of the High Evolutionary’s face off, revealing the damage that Rocket had done to him years before. He’s urged to finish the High Evolutionary off, but he declines. When asked why, he responds: “Because I’m a freakin’ Guardian of the Galaxy.”
The implication here, obviously, is that they took the moral high ground and saved the High Evolutionary’s life. The chaos of the subsequent scenes, however, makes it hard to keep track of who gets saved versus who gets left behind. The last time we see the High Evolutionary in the frame, he’s glaring up at Rocket without a face. It’d be understandable to assume that he spent his final moments on his own, in the exploding ship.
Fortunately, Miguel Ángel Acevedo Montserrat has brought a crucial shot to all of our attention. In a YouTube interview with Strip Marvel, the VFX artist pointed out that we do actually get a background frame in which Drax (Dave Bautista) can be seen carrying the body of the High Evolutionary off the ship. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it frame, but it’s definitely there and has been screen captured so that fans can get a better look. As Montserrat pointed out, though, the fate of the High Evolutionary after he’s rescued remains to be seen.
The uncertainty over the character’s fate has also been addressed by the actor who plays him, Chukwudi Iwuji. He told Phase Zero that he filmed additional scenes that were ultimately scrapped from the final cut, due to the decision to keep things open-ended.
“I’m hoping you’ll see an extended version or maybe an alternate ending, you know, that we certainly did film,” Iwuji revealed. “I mean the whole point in Marvel is that unless you see someone die, they haven’t necessarily died…”
While the actor did shy away from giving any concrete answers, his comments, coupled with the frame that Monserrat pointed out, suggest that we haven’t seen the last of the High Evolutionary.
