James Gunn confirmed the whereabouts of the High Evolutionary following the explosive finale of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3.
Where was the High Evolutionary last seen?
The latest Marvel Cinematic Universe release saw the cruel scientist, played by Chukwudi Iwuji, defeated by Rocket Racoon but ultimately spared by the Guardians. As the Arête Laboratories ship explodes, MCU fans were left under the impression that the High Evolutionary was left to die, but that was not the case as a faint moment in the film showed Drax (Dave Bautista) carrying him off before the explosion. Now with a recently released deleted scene showing the High Evolutionary behind bars on the planet Knowhere, Gunn shared his thoughts on whether or not the scene is MCU canon on his Threads account.
“I think it’s canon,” Gunn said. “It’s definitely canon that we see Drax saving him when they save the animals.”
While the High Evolutionary’s fate is fully clear, whether or not he remains imprisoned on Knowhere and should he return in a future MCU project remains unknown. MCU deleted scenes have simply been ignored in the past — whether it be Bruce Banner’s suicide attempt in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk or the death of Razor Fist in 2021’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In rare cases, some deleted scenes set up future MCU moments such as the hint of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) being related in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 which was later confirmed in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney+.
Written and directed by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 follows the team going on a mission to protect Rocket against his creator in the High Evolutionary. Simultaneously, Peter Quill/Star-Lord struggles to adjust to the alternate Gamora following the original version’s death in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. The film stars Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldaña as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Vin Diesel as Groot, and Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the Spacedog.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now available on digital platforms.
