James Gunn Just Confirmed A Guardians 3 High Evolutionary Detail We All Missed

With "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," his final movie for Marvel Studios before decamping to run Warner Bros.' DC slate full-time, James Gunn cemented his status among MCU fans with a trilogy capstone that delivers action and heartfelt storytelling in equal measure, blowing people away at the box office. A lot of the movie's momentum comes courtesy of its villain, the High Evolutionary. Played by "Peacemaker" star Chukwudi Iwuji, the High Evolutionary is a sadistic scientist with a god complex. He may not want to wipe out half the universe like Thanos (Josh Brolin) did, but he tortures animals, which makes him way worse in the eyes of many. So, when he appeared to go down with his ship near the end of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," fans rejoiced. Good riddance!

But it turns out that rumors of the High Evolutionary's death were greatly exaggerated, as detailed by an article from The Direct repackaging an interview with a VFX artist who worked on "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." In the scene near the end of the movie where the Guardians rescue all of the animals from the High Evolutionary's ship, Drax (Dave Bautista) can be seen carrying the hate-worthy villain on his back.

But just in case anyone doubted it, Gunn himself took to Twitter to confirm that the High Evolutionary was indeed saved along with all the children and animals he'd been experimenting on. "For people who want the spoiler," he wrote, "what's pointed out in the article is very much in the movie."

With James Gunn confirming that the High Evolutionary did not die at the end of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," and that he can in fact be seen carried from his ship by Drax, where might the hated villain appear next?

The High Evolutionary is presumably living on Knowhere, the base of operations for the Guardians of the Galaxy, being treated for his injuries with some of the medical technology we saw throughout the film and being heavily guarded to prevent him from getting away.

Nothing on Marvel's upcoming release slate seems to have much overlap with the corner of the universe in which the Guardians reside. The only space-adjacent projects on offer will be "Loki" Season 2 and "The Marvels," both of which have their own narratives to follow up on.

Of course, Marvel may not have a plan for him right now. Keeping characters alive doesn't necessarily mean we'll see them in a future project. It's more like saving the pens from a hotel room, even though you've got better pens at home. One day you might find that you need a pen (or, in Marvel's case, a spare baddie) and be happy you have it.

But "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" also proved that Marvel is willing to bring back even a character like Gamora (Zoe Saldana), who we previously watched die onscreen.