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.
Rocket Leaves The High Evolutionary For Dead But Doesn’t Kill Him
In the film’s climax, 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 on behalf of being a Guardian of the Galaxy.
The team then leaves the High Evolutionary’s exploding spacecraft with the villain’s test subjects in tow. As for the High Evolutionary himself, he is left injured on the ship as it explodes. It is hard to imagine the High Evolutionary surviving the resulting detonation, which likely saw him killed as his home base was destroyed. However, as a body was not seen nor was an explicit death scene shown, the uncertain nature of his fate comes into play despite the near impossibility of his survival.
How The High Evolutionary Could Return In The MCU
Aside from the almost inconceivability of the High Evolutionary’s survival, there are some ways the villain could return in the MCU. One of the character’s main goals in the film was to make everything perfect, which could have resulted in hidden experiments surrounding immortality. With so much of the High Evolutionary’s supposed “upgrades” centering on technological advancements, there could have been a way the antagonist preserved his mind in one of his vessels. Also, the High Evolutionary could have made one of his creations more directly based on his own image, as a second body of sorts that sees his work continued.
Other than this, though, it is highly unlikely that the High Evolutionary survived in any form at the end of Guardians Vol. 3. His real body being destroyed is all but beyond doubt, with the explosion of the High Evolutionary’s ship showing no sign of any survivors. Similarly, with Rocket’s storyline being culminated and the Guardians going their separate ways, it would almost be a disservice to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s exceptionally emotional story to bring back a villain the team defeated together, one last time.
