Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: James Gunn Reveals a Key Character’s Fate

Spoiler warning: This article details the ending of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Read at your own risk!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director James Gunn has confirmed the fate of the film’s main villain: The High Evolutionary.

At the end of Vol. 3, the Guardians rescue the genetically engineered children and animals on the High Evolutionary’s ship and bring them to Knowhere. The High Evolutionary’s ship is destroyed, leaving many viewers thinking the villain perished on board.

However, a VFX artist revealed (via The Direct) that Drax was carrying the High Evolutionary during the evacuation scene, meaning the Guardians chose to save the main antagonist of the film.

Gunn explained this choice on Twitter, and confirmed the High Evolutionary’s current whereabouts.

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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…

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 19, 2023

“It’s the whole culmination of Rocket’s journey,” Gunn wrote. “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.”

In a separate tweet, Gunn confirmed that the High Evolutionary is now imprisoned on Knowhere.

If you have more burning questions about the finale of the Guardians trilogy, check out our ending and post-credits scene explained for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Or, check out other Guardians Vol. 3 secrets from Gunn, including plans for another villain, the MCU’s first F-bomb, and more.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over seven years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.