Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is more than 15 months away, but the leaks and rumors about the highly anticipated finale of the Guardians trilogy are already here. In fact, the latest Guardians 3 rumor might actually spoil the name of the film’s main villain. Fans of the popular MCU franchise might have already seen it coming, as previous rumors also mentioned this Guardians of the Galaxy development. But the newest confirmation comes just days after James Gunn praised the actor playing the purported villain. And Gunn never specified the actor’s role either. As usual with MCU rumors, big spoilers might follow below.
Gunn’s praise for Chukwudi Iwuji
The writer and director of Guardians 3 talked about his current work on the franchise in a recent interview. He said at the time that the third part in the trilogy isn’t the film you expect, teasing a darker fate for the beloved Guardians. He never mentioned the Guardians 3 villain, however.
It’s during this interview that he singled out Chukwudi Iwuji, without specifying what character the actor is playing:
It’s going great. Chukwudi, who plays Murn in Peacemaker, is one of the main characters in the movie and people are freaking out over how good this guy is. Literally freaking out. I think that I’m really happy. I gave a bunch of scenes to Marvel right before Christmas break. Kevin [Feige] went… They were all really, really, really stoked. But also, it’s not going to be the movie people… It’s different than what people are going to expect. It’s a hard road, but I’m really happy with it so far.
Iwuji did not appear in previous Guardians installments. That means he’s a fresh addition to the crew. Given that Gunn sent Feige footage of Iwuji’s performance, the actor might play an essential character in the movie. Guardians 3 already has plenty of heroes, so common sense dictates that Iwuji is an antagonist, if not a full-fledged villain.
What’s interesting is that Marvel did recently confirm another big Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 character. Will Poulter will play Adam Warlock. But Marvel is yet to give us Iwuji’s identity.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 villain
This brings us to a new report from The Cosmic Circus’ Lizzie Hill. In it, Hill says she heard from a reliable source that she trusts that Iwuji plays the High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. That’s a well-known, smart, and very powerful Marvel villain who is perfect for Guardians 3. Hill said in a previous report that Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin would return in Hawkeye. And that’s exactly what happened.
The current speculation is that the High Evolutionary created Rocker Raccoon (Bradley Cooper). Rocket is an even more important Guardians member than before, especially after the events in Infinity War and Endgame. Alongside Nebula (Karen Gillan), Rocket is one of the most experienced Guardians, considering his colleagues were dead for five years.
What’s interesting about Hill’s Guardians 3 villain report is that she goes through previous rumors and reports that have mentioned the High Evolutionary before in connection to Guardians 3. We just didn’t know that Iwuji would play him. You can read the full take at this link.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 premieres on May 5th, 2023, assuming Marvel sticks to the current schedule. This gives us plenty of time to learn more details about Iwuji’s character.
