Instead of the High Evolutionary, the evil creator of Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was almost a major Fantastic Four villain. During his own Q&A on Twitter, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 writer-director James Gunn was asked about the villain Annihilus being considered for the movie. One fan tweeted at Gunn, "I saw you mentioned Annihilus as a possible villain for Vol. 3. Was he also going to be a candidate for Rockets creator?" Gunn responded to the inquiry with a "Yes."
Annihilus was created by iconic Marvel writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby in 1968's Fantastic Four Annual #6. Although he has gone up against the Guardians of the Galaxy in comics, Annihilus is a primary antagonist for the Fantastic Four. The villain rules over an insect-like army in the Negative Zone, an alternate universe, while wielding the Cosmic Control Rod. This weapon allows the user a variety of powers, ranging from energy manipulation to telekinesis and beyond.
Gunn limited his Twitter Q&A primarily to "Yes" and "No" answers, so he does not explain why the High Evolutionary became Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's main villain instead of Annihilus. As of writing, Marvel Studios is working on a Fantastic Four reboot for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, currently slated to release Feb. 14, 2025. Outside rumors and reports, official details for the movie remain scarce, such as who the film's antagonist will be. However, industry scooper Daniel Richtman has reported that actors Adam Driver and Margot Robbie may play the team's Mister Fantastic/Reed Richards and Invisible Woman/Sue Storm, respectively.
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As for the High Evolutionary, the character was also created by Lee and Kirby, first appearing in 1966's Thor #134. Gunn cast Peacemaker actor Chukwudi Iwuji as the villain for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, turning him into the creator of Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper). The movie thrusts Rocket into the spotlight by placing him into a life-or-death role connecting back to the High Evolutionary.
While the Fantastic Four will soon join the MCU, is appears that the Guardians' time is over for now. Vol. 3 ends the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy helmed by Gunn, who is now a co-CEO of DC Studios actively mapping out its live-action DC Universe. A month before the Marvel movie released though, Gunn shared his hope that the Guardians are in the MCU's future. "I would love to see any characters that remain [at the end of the film] get solo movies, or join the Avengers, or a new version of the Guardians, or whatever," Gunn said.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now playing in theaters.
Source: Twitter