Even months after hitting theaters worldwide, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is still one of the hottest Marvel topics around. One of the better MCU movies after Avengers: Endgame, the threequel is an emotional roller coaster ride, where it discovers Rocket’s dark past, while also featuring the final farewell of Star-Lord, Drax and some other crucial members. With the original roster gone, Rocket must build the Guardians again from scratch, with Adam Warlock, Cosmo, Kraglin and Phyla being the new recruits. The film is also James Gunn’s final MCU project before taking on new challenges in rebuilding the DC Universe.
However, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 still leaves some questions unanswered for fans, one of which is about whether the High Evolutionary is dead or alive at the end. The debate reemerges once again after a newly deleted cut of the movie was uploaded exclusively by IGN on YouTube a couple of days ago, which gives us the final answer about the villain’s final fate. Let’s find out about the cut scene below.
#1. Is the villain dead in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3?
Source: Marvel
Long before the deleted scene’s release, back in May 2023, Miguel Ángel Acevedo Montserrat, a VFX artist for the film disclosed a shocking fact about High Evolutionary’s being alive at the end of Volume 3. It turns out, the Guardians didn’t let the villain blow up with his ship, but instead brought him back to Knowhere for further interrogation. The big p that Drax carried out of the spaceship at the end wasn’t an animal, but was actually High Evolutionary who was unconscious at the time.
#2. The High Evolutionary is still alive in the cut.
In the deleted cut, we can see a badly-rendered Rocket Raccoon activating the prison door, locking the High Evolutionary inside. The bad guy looks stunned and tattered, seemingly unable to process what happened to him. He even looks startled as Rocket closes the prison door. His left hand tries to put his torn face together, but to no avail. Rocket then walks away without saying a word.
With this footage, the High Evolutionary’s ultimate fate is now cleared, which leaves fans wondering why the Guardians decided to spare his life earlier. Throughout the movie, the High Evolutionary has proven time and time again that his evil and twisted mind is beyond saving, and doesn’t shy from any method to get Rocket for himself. Besides, after the Guardians eliminate his whole army, it wouldn’t make sense for them to spare only the final boss.
#3. The scene also features an interesting conversation between Kraglin and Adam Warlock.
Source: Marvel
Right after Rocket’s sequence, the camera quickly pans to Kraglin, who’s trying to hold a conversation with Adam Warlock, who was welcomed like a hero after saving Star-Lord’s life. Kraglin asks his name, to which Warlock replies: “Adam”. Kraglin immediately shows his distaste for the name, deeming it “sucks” and “ain’t a hero name”, while suggesting that the latter should find a more “metal” title such as Iron Maiden or Molly Hatchet. Kraglin then left, leaving the latter sitting bewildered.
This is also a fun and important scene that unfortunately didn’t make it to the final stage, as it implies that Adam Warlock has fully embraced his comic title at the end.
#4. Why was the footage cut from the final product?
Source: Marvel
While the deleted scene clears the debate about the High Evolutionary’s fate, we believe James Gunn has his reason to remove it from the movie. Firstly, after a hard-fought victory, the final scene of Volume 3 should solely focus on the Guardians and their emotional goodbye, and the afterward celebrations and festivities in Knowhere, and the movie delivers it perfectly.
Besides, deleting the final scene of the High Evolutionary could also mean that while Marvel wants to keep the villain alive, his role in the MCU might as well have reached its conclusion. With Rocket Raccoon finally moving on from his part, it wouldn’t make sense for the villain to come back and keep pestering him in future MCU projects. However, the High Evolutionary is such an iconic and interesting character in the comic, who also has a huge impact on Adam Warlock’s storyline, so there are still many aspects that the studio can explore about the villain.
Do you think the High Evolutionary will return in future MCU projects? Don’t hesitate to share your thoughts in the comment.