Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 Photos Support A Major Powerful Villain Theory

Among the many returning characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 4 are the Guardians of the Galaxy, first in Thor: Love and Thunder and later in a third adventure simply titled Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and rumors about the latter’s possible villain have already begun – and set photos support a theory about it being the High Evolutionary, a powerful Marvel villain. Over the course of more than 20 movies, the MCU has seen a variety of characters, and one group that quickly won over the hearts of the audience was the Guardians of the Galaxy.

This group of space misfits made their MCU debut in 2014 in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and after one more adventure across space in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, they joined the rest of the MCU’s heroes in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame to fight and defeat Thanos after he wiped out half of life in the universe. The team has gone through big changes since their first appearance, with the addition of Mantis (Pom Klementieff), the original Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) dead, and her past version escaping during the Battle of Earth. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will reunite the team and will introduce Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), but the identity of the main villain they will face this time is still unknown.

So far, the Guardians of the Galaxy have come across the Kree (thanks to Ronan the Accuser), a Celestial (Ego, who also turned out to be Peter Quill’s father), and Thanos and his many armies. Although the villain of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hasn’t been revealed yet, there are already a number of theories on who it could be, and a couple of set photos seem to support one about a very powerful villain: High Evolutionary. Here’s what you need to know about this character.

Who Is The High Evolutionary In Marvel Comics? Origin & Powers Explained

Herbert Edgar Wyndham, a.k.a. High Evolutionary, was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and made his first full appearance in The Mighty Thor #134 in 1966. Wyndham was born in Manchester, England, and as a student at Oxford University, he took interest in the works of Nathaniel Essex, a scientist obsessed with deterministic interpretations of natural evolution, predicting the emergence of mutants in the near future. Wyndham started experimenting with genetic manipulation, attempting to "evolve" the rats in his mother's basement, and during a conference in Geneva, he was approached by a disguised Inhuman who gave him the secrets for unlocking genetic codes. Wyndham was later expelled from Oxford University but continued his experiments with fellow scientist Jonathan Drew.

Wyndham and Drew set up a base in Transia on Wundagore Mountain, and following an incident with a werewolf, Wyndham built a suit of advanced armor to protect himself. Soon after, and now with the help of his new assistant, Miles Warren, Wyndham transformed a group of animals into talking, humanoid characters he named “New Men”. Many years later, Wyndham, now known as the High Evolutionary, took a ship to the point in Earth’s orbit on the opposite side of the sun and used his technology to advance a small chunk of terrestrial material into a copy of Earth, with the purpose of creating a planet without the corruption of evil. During this time, High Evolutionary recovered the cocoon of Him, and when he was reborn, High Evolutionary named him “Adam Warlock”, gave him the Soul Gem, and tasked him with protecting Counter-Earth.

Due to exposure to his Evolutionary Accelerator machine, the High Evolutionary was given superhuman abilities through the acceleration of his personal evolution. Among his abilities are superhuman levels of strength, durability, and intelligence (thanks to evolving his own brain to its full potential, giving him virtually unlimited knowledge), a high healing factor that makes him virtually unkillable, astral projection, telepathy, levitation, mental invisibility (as in, being undetectable by other telepaths), force fields, mass manipulation, psychokinesis, force blasts, plasmatic rays, total recall memory, and artificial evolution.

The High Evolutionary Is Rumored To Be In Guardians Of The Galaxy

Among the many rumors around Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, its story, and characters is one that says the High Evolutionary will be the movie’s villain and will be played by Chukwudi Iwuji (who worked with Gunn in the TV series Peacemaker, playing Clemson Murn). Iwuji’s role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hasn’t been revealed, but he has described his mysterious character as “deeply complex” and “extremely powerful”, which has inevitably fueled the theory about the High Evolutionary. As seen above, the High Evolutionary’s story fits with the tone and events of the MCU, more so now thanks to Adam Warlock also debuting in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and set photos have only fueled the theory.

Guardians Of The Galaxy 3 Set Photos Support High Evolutionary Theories

Guardians of the galaxy 3 Who is the high evolutionary

A series of photos from the set of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 have been revealed, and while all eyes will go to the members of the title team, there are photos of some animal-like alien characters that could be pointing at the High Evolutionary being the big bad guy to defeat. As mentioned above, the High Evolutionary transformed animals into humanoid beings, and the characters shown in those set photos could be some of the High Evolutionary’s creations. Another photo from an Earth-like set shows a wall covered with graffiti, and among those are two images that look very similar to the High Evolutionary, hinting at Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 not only featuring this powerful character but also taking the team to Counter-Earth.

Will The High Evolutionary Be Guardians Of The Galaxy 3's Villain?

Guardians Galaxy 3 Counter-Earth High Evolutionary Tease Photos SR

Marvel has changed its game throughout Phase 4 by releasing trailers a lot later than usual, revealing surprise cameos in teasers, and more, so even though Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is nearing the end of production, details about its characters and story might not be revealed until much, much later. With that in mind, confirmation on the High Evolutionary being the villain or not might not arrive soon, but there are definitely enough clues and teases to believe this character is involved to an extent. Now, Adam Warlock might not be the only link between the High Evolutionary and the MCU, as given the character’s past of experimenting with animals and evolution, he could be introduced as the creator of Rocket Raccoon.

The origins of Rocket Raccoon and his story before the events of Guardians of the Galaxy are unknown, so bringing the High Evolutionary in as the creator of Rocket would solve the mystery of his origin while also adding another layer of drama and complexity to Rocket's story. The High Evolutionary certainly fits the MCU and the Guardians of the Galaxy’s current path, as well as Phase 4’s line-up of powerful villains, so he would be an exciting addition to this expanding universe that would also benefit the arcs of other characters.

Next: GOTG 3: Adam Warlock Is Connected To Rocket Raccoon - Theory Explained