‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’s Chukwudi Iwuji Confirms the High Evolutionary Is Pure Evil

The Guardians of the Galaxy will be facing a truly evil foe during their final outing together. Reuniting with James Gunn after playing Clemson Munn in the director’s hit HBO Max series, Peacemaker, Chukwudi Iwuji is ready to rain terror as the High Evolutionary. Previous footage has teased just how despicable this super-powered individual is and how he’ll directly threaten the Guardians alongside Will Poulter‘s Adam Warlock. Before this rag-tag group hits theaters again with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Iwuji wanted to emphasize that there is no line the High Evolutionary will not cross in an effort to create the perfect species.

Collider’s own Perri Nemiroff spoke to the cast and team behind the film, including Iwuji, who suggested the High Evolutionary could be scarier than Thanos, a lofty comparison considering how memorable the Josh Brolin-portrayed warlord was across his appearance in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Here’s what Iwuji said while reveling in the unrestricted level of villainy the High Evolutionary displays:

“I sort of mentioned the word zealotry, and I don’t think there’s a line he won’t cross if he believes it’s gonna get you there. He does believe that he is the only one that can bring civilization to the next level and save it. Very Thanos-like almost, but in a very scary way. So I don’t think there’s a line. And that was the joy of playing him. I’m not sort of pretending and winking at the audience that, ‘Don’t worry there’s a line. We’ll do another movie, and I’ll be much nicer.’ No, this guy is completely disturbing, and it was completely delicious to play that.”

RELATED: James Gunn Says ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ “Isn’t About Saving the Universe”

Iwuji Has Plenty of Laughs While Filming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Considering this is a James Gunn-directed Guardians of the Galaxy film, there was no shortage of hilarious moments during filming. Iwuji was a frequent victim of the giggles, and who can blame him? The cast features a slew of actors who are “adept improvisers” like Sean Gunn and Chris Pratt, so it was a point of pride for Iwuji to get through the more hilarious scenes in the film without getting himself canned for laughing too much. “Honestly, I’m glad there were some days I was shooting with Nico Santos and Miriam Shor,” he said. “I’m glad I actually managed to pull off that scene finally because I was laughing so hard during it. There were so many days where I almost laughed myself into getting fired, so it was great that I finished off the scenes.”

Iwuji’s co-star, Will Poulter, concurred regarding the humor on set, specifically highlighting how challenging it can be to hold it together working opposite Pratt and Gunn:

“It’s so true. I would maybe second that and say there are times where Sean Gunn was throwing out alts to me and is such an adept improviser. Chris, too! When that was being thrown at you, pelted with funny stones, and you can sort of hold it together, which is something I’m not very good at.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is expected to be an emotional project, delving into Rocket Raccoon’s (Bradley Cooper) dark past as Peter Quill (Pratt) tries to keep the Guardians together to save their friend. It sounds like Iwuji and Poulter had a ton of fun being aboard for the farewell tour with the former reminiscing about the experience saying, “With a James Gunn project, holding it together, finishing off a day of filming, and you managed to still be employed because you haven’t screwed up is a good thing.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 premieres in theaters on May 5. Check out the trailer below: