James Gunn Reveals How Guardians 3's Villain Survives at the End

James Gunn just revealed how Chukwudi Iwuji's High Evolutionary actually survived at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

At the end of Vol. 3 the team went toe-to-toe with Iwuji's big bad and finally defeats him. Instead of killing him, however, Rocket chose to keep him alive instead.

Following Rocket's choice, audiences were under the impression that the villain's fate was sealed as his ship exploded—though the actor himself revealed his character did survive. In his words, "You don't actually see me go down with the ship."

For those looking close enough, Dave Bautista's Drax can be seen carrying the villain at the end of the film as everyone escapes to Knowhere.

James Gunn Reveals High Evolutionary's Fate

On Twitter, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 writer and director James Gunn revealed how Chukwudi Iwuji's High Evolutionary survived his encounter with the Guardians at the end of the movie.

In response to an article from The Direct going over the surprise twist, Gunn noted that "what’s pointed out in the article is very much in the movie."

So what happened to him next? Gunn stated that Iwuji's villain was "imprisoned on Knowhere."

The filmmaker elaborated, explaining how it was the perfect culmination of Rocket's journey and that fans might possibly see a deleted scene of High Evolutionary "in the extras eventually:"

"Yes! It’s the whole culmination of Rocket’s journey. His shift comes in that he doesn’t kill him - he goes from being the least empathetic to the most empathetic Guardian. It seems silly & hollow that he’d refuse to kill him & then leave him on an exploding ship. And, yes, there is a deleted scene. It’s really great actually but it messed up the pacing of the end. But you’ll see it in the extras eventually."

What's Next for High Evolutionary?

It's a smart move by both James Gunn and Marvel Studios to keep Chukwudi Iwuji's High Evolutionary on the board so that they can use him later if the opportunity arises. The actor is simply incredible as well, so the more of him, the better.

Vocal fans have made it clear that they love the new villain. In this case, love is equivalent to an intense hatred of the character's cruelty—but in the best possible way.

But how could High Evolutionary become involved once again? Maybe the heroes of the MCU will need his expertise when Kang starts causing Multiversal trouble.

Or, Iwuji could end up a supporting player in a fourth Guardians. Perhaps audiences could see Rocket struggling with his choice to keep alive the one person who tortured him and killed his best friends.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now playing in theaters worldwide.