Guardians Of The Galaxy 3's Chukwudi Iwuji Has Some Mean Things To Say About High Evolutionary
The High Evolutionary is a unique and formidable villain in the Marvel Universe — a man whose obsession with altering human genetics leads him down a dark path that eventually sees him attempting to evolve animals into a higher state of consciousness. Upon having unlocked the secrets of biological manipulation, the High Evolutionary transcends his own humanity to become a powerful being with psionic powers, who is driven to further evolution in his chosen direction with little care for the ethics or pain involved.
While the High Evolutionary has branched outside of his comic book roots before, most notably in the underrated animated series "Spider-Man Unlimited," it looks like he will finally make his feature film debut in James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," where he will be played by Chukwudi Iwuji. This is not the first time the two have worked together: Iwuji also played the heartless Clemson Murn in Gunn's "Peacemaker" series on HBO Max.
As reported by Deadline, Iwuji recently took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con in full High Evolutionary garb, and he proceeded to insult the crowd — in character — by saying, "I'm pleased to be here. Thank you for inspiring me for how vomitious you all are. I can't wait to dissect all of you and see what I can learn."
To top that off, it seems as if Iwuji has some choice words about the despicable nature of his character.
Iwuji says the High Evolutionary is a sociopath
Speaking with Collider, Chukwudi Iwuji was asked about his upcoming character in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and his costumed appearance at SDCC, and replied, "Shady doesn't touch it. He is narcissistic, sociopathic, but very charming. I couldn't have thought of a better character that uses [a] skill set better to join the MCU with. Because there's something very Shakespearean about him, there's something very emotionally dark about him, and he's a lot of fun on top of all that."
He added that as monstrous as the High Evolutionary is, actually wearing his character's bright purple costume truly brought his performance to the next level. "There's something about putting it on, which I'm glad you mentioned because a big part of my performance was that costume," he explained.
Considering the above comments — and his in-character appearance at SDCC — it seems as if the actor is truly getting into the role, and he respects the source material and understands what makes the High Evolutionary so unique in Marvel's pantheon of antagonists. How he will combat the likes of Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and his company of unlikely allies is up for debate, but at least we know that Iwuji is having fun with the character both on and off-screen, and he will prove to be a no-doubt eccentric presence in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."