Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Villain Reportedly Confirmed in New Set Photo

It looks like Chukwudi Iwuji’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 role may have finally been confirmed. After much speculation about the actor’s villainous role, new photos captured by set-tracking paparazzi reveal some graffiti of a character bearing Iwuji’s likeness. Furthermore, that character — as you might suspect given current rumors — also happens to bear a striking resemblance of the High Evolutionary, a classic cosmic mainstay from deep within the Marvel stable.

The latest photos come courtesy of the aces at Cosmic Circus, which happened to capture the graffiti-filled stills. As some have pointed out, the humanoid animals captured in the batch of set photos by JustJared over the weekend appear to be on a planet similar to Earth. The High Evolutionary oversees a domain called Counter-Earth, which is essentially supposed to look just like our planet but be full of his human-animal hybrid experiments.

While Iwuji wouldn’t confirm his character in a chat with Variety earlier this year, he did hint there’s a sense of extremism with him.

“The production is so big. James and I, we’re picking up where we left off,” Iwuji said at the time. “[The character] is very different from Murn. It requires different stuff from me. The way James works with me is pretty much the same, which is he trusts my choices – but at the same time when I give him a choice, he’s ready to push it further. He’s making me push myself. This character needs an extremism that I didn’t need to really tap into in Peacemaker that I’m tapping into here. Our relationship remains the same, one of enjoyment, mutual love and trust.”

“It’s a lot different. Murn is a very contained guy with bursts of anger and emotion. What I’m dealing with is a completely different guy, who, let’s just say, is the extreme opposite of Murn in many ways,” the actor added. “It’s a different kind of world and universe.”

The first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies are now streaming on Disney+ while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is due to hit theaters May 5, 2023. I Am Groot and the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special have yet to receive release dates.

What members of the Guardians would you like to see spin-off shows of? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things MCU!