If you thought the High Evolutionary was done for, think again. It turns out Drax, of all people, might have saved the villain at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
In a May 18 interview with Spanish-language YouTube channel Strip Marvel, VFX artist Miguel Ángel Acevedo Montserrat, who worked on Vol. 3, confirmed that Drax (Dave Bautista) actually grabs the corpse of the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji).
The interview is conducted in Spanish, but Reddit’s r/marvelstudios broke it down and even pointed out a grainy screengrab showing Drax holding the body of the High Evolutionary in the film’s finale. It’s hard to make out, but Montserrat insists that Drax saved the High Evolutionary, or at least his body.
This is a pretty big piece of information Vol. 3 declines to make clear to the audience, and it leaves the door wide open for Iwuji’s return to the MCU. While writer and director James Gunn likely wanted a sense of finality in his third and final Marvel movie, it’s not unlike the Marvel franchise to seed more appearances in future spin-offs and sequels.
Iwuji himself recently told ComicBook.com that his character might still be alive, and confirmed he shot scenes that may reveal as much. “I’m hoping you’ll see an extended version or maybe an alternate ending, you know, that we certainly did film,” Iwuji said.
He added, “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.”
As for how the High Evolutionary might return, this is the Marvel Universe we’re talking about. Everyone from Wolverine to Wonder Man has died and come back to life dozens of times. If a genius supervillain who created an entire Earth with animal-human hybrids can’t piece himself back together, does he deserve the name High Evolutionary? Not even death stops the best villains from carrying out their ultimate plans.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now playing in theaters.
