Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 star Chukwudi Iwuji details how his High Evolutionary debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be different from the comics.
At San-Diego Comic Con 2022, attendees were given an exclusive sneak peek at Chukwudi Iwuji's High Evolutionary attire and villainous outlook in Hall H. Recently, the actor opened up about how his character will differ from his Marvel Comics' counterpart, and what his costume highlights with Iwuji's "shady" version of the High Evolutionary. "Shady doesn't touch it," he explained to Collider. "He is narcissistic, sociopathic, but very charming." The actor teased a "Shakespearean" aspect of the MCU's High Evolutionary, continuing, "there's something very emotionally dark about him, and he's a lot of fun on top of all that."
High Evolutionary, also known as Herbert Edgar Wyndham, is one of Marvel's villains created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby that makes his debut in Thor #134 from 1966. In comics, he is a scientist who developed a particular interest in genetics and the possibility of "evolving" creatures. Speaking about portraying a mad scientist, with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as his entry point into the MCU, Iwuji commented, "I couldn't have thought of a better character that uses [a] skill set better to join the MCU with."
Iwuji explained that the super suit he wore in Hall H was essential to portraying the mad scientist. "The day I put on that costume because he looks very different from how he is in the comics, but the costume just worked." According to Iwuji, there's also a deeper defining connection between his character and the costume. "There's something about putting it on," the actor commented. He explained that "a big part" of his performance was the costume.
GotG Vol. 3 Debuts Both The High Evolutionary and Adam Warlock
Aside from Chukwudi Iwuji joining the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 cast, Will Poulter is set to debut his live-action version of Adam Warlock. In an earlier interview, director James Gunn teased that his take on Warlock will be nothing Marvel fans have seen before. "Like all of the Guardians, he has a very specific personality," the director said. "When you have a character like Adam, who has been written by a bunch of different comic book writers, each one has their own take on Adam. This is our take on Adam, and I think he's a pretty spectacular character."
An exclusive trailer shown at SDCC gave fans a preview of what the next adventure of the Guardians of the Galaxy will be, though the trailer has not been officially released online. The film sees Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Sylvester Stallone, Elizabeth Debicki and Sean Gunn return to their respective roles from the franchise. New cast members include Iwuji, Poulter, Borat's Maria Bakalova and The Suicide Squad's Daniela Melchior.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to hit theaters on May 5, 2023.
Source: Collider