Summary
- Rocket Raccoon and Phyla have more in common than shown in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 - both were animals evolved by the High Evolutionary.
- The Star Children, including Phyla, were derived from animals despite their more humanoid features, further linking them to Rocket's own creation.
- Phyla's secret backstory and animal origins were likely not explored in the movie due to the focus on Rocket and the original Guardians, but there is potential for further exploration in future MCU projects.
Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) has a lot more in common with a new hero than Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 lets on. A genetic experiment created by the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), Rocket Raccoon was part of an early batch of experiments in the villain's ongoing mission to create the perfect society. However, more batches would be created following Rocket's escape as seen in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Now, a key behind-the-scenes reveal proves just how much in common Rocket has with Phyla, one of the High Evolutionary's Star Children who eventually became a member of the New Guardians by the film's end.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 features the High Evolutionary's creations known as the Star Children, his next attempt at a perfect society after determining that the Humanimals were a failure, horrifically destroying Counter-Earth and the entire population as a result. The Star Children were all rescued by the Guardians of the Galaxy at the end of the movie, though one girl named Phyla ed the Guardians' new roster led by Rocket, mirroring Marvel Comics' Phyla-Vell who was one of the original Guardians on the page. However, it seems the MCU's Phyla has more in common with Rocket than was directly shown in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Rocket And Phyla Are Both Animals Evolved By The High Evolutionary
Confirmed by a behind-the-scenes video for Guardians of the Galaxy, it's been revealed that the Star Children were also derived from animals despite their more human features. Just like Rocket Racoon and his friends as well as the subsequent Humanimals, it seems as though all the High Evolutionary's creations began as regular creatures who were then hyper-evolved and modified. This apparently includes the Star Children who were believed to be the Evolutionary's best attempt yet at his idealized perfect society.
According to young actress Sarah Anne, her character Latti evolved from a fish. This explains the more subtle features on her nose and cheeks resembling scales and gills. Seeing as how Phyla is from the same experimentation group and carries her own distinctive facial markings, it appears as though she too was evolved from an animal as well. While this fact isn't made clear in the movie itself, it's now confirmed that Phyla and the Star Children weren't just humanoid kids who'd undergone experimentation at the hands of the High Evolutionary. As such, this reveal ties Phyla's origins to Rocket Raccoon even further as they were both derived from animals.
Why Phyla's Secret Backstory Isn't In GotG 3
All things considered, Phyla isn't in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for very long. After all, she and her fellow Star Children are only featured in the final act along with Phyla making an appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's post-credits scene, having ed the New Guardians of the Galaxy's roster. To that end, it makes sense that not a lot could be spent explaining the details of her creation and origins seeing as how the focus was primarily on Rocket and the original Guardians by that point, and justifiably so.
It's more than likely that Phyla's backstory was deemed as being not as necessary for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Ultimately, the most important element on a narrative level is that she's a child, not that she was hyper-evolved from an animal. However, now that Phyla has been set up as a new member of the team, her origins and deeper connections to Rocket are certainly a narrative hook that can be explored on-screen later on, assuming the Guardians of the Galaxy eventually get another MCU movie down the line.
How Phyla's Visual Design May Tease Her Secret Past
Obviously, it's currently unknown exactly what kind of animal Phyla might have evolved from. That being said, the lines on her face are different from Latti's and the other Star Children. Keeping that in mind, they do carry a resemblance to whiskers, so perhaps Phyla was hyper-evolved from some sort of feline creature like a cat.
At any rate, one can hope that the secrets of Phyla's origins will be revealed at some point in the future. If not in an MCU movie or show, perhaps the details could be officially confirmed in some sort of canonical visual guide. Although it's understandable, it would have been nice to learn more about Phyla, especially after she became a new Guardian as seen at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
