High Evolutionary is confirmed to be Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's villain, and Chukwudi Iwuji debuted his full costume at San Diego Comic-Con 2022. The final installment of James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy is among the most anticipated of Marvel Studios' upcoming projects. The movie brings back Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), Nebula (Karen Gillan), and Mantis (Pom Klementieff). Marvel debuted the first Guardians of the Galaxy 3 footage at SDCC, which provided some of the first plot details about the Phase 5 movie.

One of the big questions that have been circulating around Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, though, is who the villain would be. There has long been speculation that High Evolutionary could be the movie's main foe due to the potential for him to be connected to Rocket Raccoon's origin story. This possibility was eventually supported by Guardians of the Galaxy 3 set photos, which appeared to show the first look at Counter-Earth. The location featuring genetically modified animals pointed to High Evolutionary's involvement in the movie, but Marvel never confirmed it.

During Marvel Studios' Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 that revealed the official MCU Phase 5 slate, it was officially confirmed that Guardians of the Galaxy 3's villain is High Evolutionary. Actor Chukwudi Iwuji, who previously worked with Gunn in Peacemaker, appeared at the convention in High Evolutionary's full costume, which can be seen below:


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The confirmation of High Evolutionary as Guardians of the Galaxy 3's villain is long overdue in the grand scheme of the movie's production. High Evolutionary, also known as Herbert Wyndham in the comics, is a brilliant scientist who becomes obsessed with the idea of genetic alteration. He is even connected to Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver's origin in the comics, which led to speculation that WandaVision could set him up. That did not happen, but Guardians of the Galaxy 3 will likely reveal he has had a bigger role in the grand scheme of the MCU's story, especially through Rocket's origin story.

While High Evolutionary being the villain of Guardians of the Galaxy 3 may have been somewhat expected, seeing a glimpse of Iwuji in costume at SDCC was a nice surprise. It continues a trend for the Guardians franchise in terms of bringing out cast members in full makeup and costume, as the Ravagers did the same in 2016 before the sequel. Whether or not this is exactly how High Evolutionary looks in Guardians of the Galaxy 3 remains to be seen, though. It is possible this costume is the practical version of the suit that Iwuji wore on set but that certain features will be changed using CGI. In any case, Chukwudi Iwuji looks great as High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.