Summary
- The High Evolutionary does not die in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." He is left injured on the ship as it explodes.
- The movie subtly confirms the High Evolutionary's survival as Drax is seen carrying him while the Guardians escape from the ship.
- A deleted scene reveals that the High Evolutionary is alive and imprisoned on Knowhere, potentially setting up his return in a future MCU project.
Warning! This article contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 saw the team go up against their most detestable villain yet in the High Evolutionary, but did the villain die at the end of the film? The High Evolutionary is played by Chukwudi Imuji whose plight is to rework the universe in his own image. By stripping away the impurities, imperfections, and elements he deems not worthy of various species, the High Evolutionary subjects thousands of creatures from across the universe to cruel torture and experimentation.
One of these creatures was Rocket, with the High Evolutionary being responsible for his creation. This naturally brings Rocket and the Guardians into conflict with the villain, meaning the final Guardians of the Galaxy film in the MCU tells a deeply emotional, character-centric story. With the film's villain tying so intrinsically to the main characters and plot, it is interesting that the High Evolutionary's fate is left somewhat ambiguous by the end of the movie. That being said, here is the villain's fate explained and what that could mean for the future of the MCU as well as a potential Guardians of the Galaxy 4.
The High Evolutionary Is Alive - Why Rocket Doesn't Kill Him
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's ending, the High Evolutionary finally gets his hands on Rocket after attempting to capture him throughout the movie. This starts a battle between the two before Rocket overpowers the High Evolutionary with the aid of the Guardians. After subduing the villain, Drax urges Rocket to kill him, which Rocket declines to do because he's a Guardian of the Galaxy. He rises above the violence.
The team then leaves the High Evolutionary's exploding spacecraft with the villain's test subjects in tow. As for the High Evolutionary himself, the movie makes it seem like he's left injured on the ship as it explodes, which would have made him one of the few characters who die in Guardians of the Galaxy 3, but in actual fact, The High Evolutionary does not die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3's ending.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 Subtly Confirmed The High Evolutionary Is Alive (And Who Saved Him)
While it's hard to spot, High Evolutionary's status at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is actually confirmed in the background of part of the big escape sequence from his ship. As Knowhere's residents watch on anxiously, the Guardians eventually emerge from the exploding spaceship along with all the freed experiment subjects from The High Evolutionary's dungeon. Nebula, Mantis, Gamora, Groot, and Peter Quill all carry animals - from pigs to monkeys - while larger ones run or fly themselves to safety. But behind Gamora, as she runs into the foreground, Drax is carrying the unconscious High Evolutionary, which can only really be spotted when you pause the movie.
A Deleted Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3 Scene Revealed What Happened To The High Evolutionary
On top of the reveal hidden in the final movie, a Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 deleted scene confirmed that the High Evolutionary is alive and imprisoned on Knowhere, with Nebula no doubt keeping a close eye on him.
The question now is whether The High Evolutionary will return in Guardians of the Galaxy 4 or another future MCU project. James Gunn might say that Vol 4 won't happen, but that doesn't mean a different Guardians movie can't, effectively rebooting the team for a new trilogy/story. There's also a chance that could be the long-rumored Rocket & Groot spin-off, but that would seem awfully reductive to the other of the new Guardians of the Galaxy team (and a prequel would be better if that were to ever happen anyway). More likely, The High Evolutionary will simply remain as a captive on Knowhere, forgotten: and that's arguably the most fitting fate for him after he'd positioned himself as the most important person in the MCU Multiverse in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3.
