Is High Evolutionary a Kang Variant? Theories Explained

MCU Phase 5 so far introduced us to two great villains, a multiversal warlord named Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania and High Evolutionary in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3. Despite these two villains having two very different purposes and goals, some fans seem to think that High Evolutionary is actually a variant of Kang the Conqueror. We decided to analyze this theory and give you our opinion on it. Let’s see, is High Evolutionary merely Kang’s variant? 

High Evolutionary is not a variant of Kang the Conqueror. So far, the two villains don’t seem to be connected at all, and all signs point to High Evolutionary being dead. Kang has plenty of variants that will inevitably appear in the upcoming MCU projects, but none of them fit the profile of High Evolutionary according to the source material. 

Now that we’ve cleared up that High Evolutionary is most likely not even connected to Kang, it’s time to analyze why. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading! 

Kang the Conqueror has many variants, and some of them, we’ve already seen in the MCU 

The most memorable thing about Kang the Conqueror is that he can time travel, and he somehow figured out how to travel through the multiverse to mess with different timelines using his advanced ship. 

This inevitably led to Kang both creating and getting in touch with numerous variants of himself across different timelines and multiverses. The first variant of Kang the Conqueror that we’ve seen in the MCU was He Who Remains, which debuted in Disney+ show Loki. 

He Who Remains, Nathaniel Richards, was in charge of TVA, and he was making sure that timelines flowed smoothly without disruption. Unfortunately, Sylvie Laufeydottir, a Loki variant, dealt with him, and this leads us to Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Kang, whom we met in the first movie of Phase 5, was stuck in the Quantum Realm after the Council of Kangs exiled him because he wanted to deal with their plan of multiversal domination. 

So he wasn’t all bad, even though he was single-handedly responsible for the destruction of numerous timelines. In the post-credits scenes of Quantumania, we were introduced to a few more variants of Kang. The Council of Kangs debuted with Immortus, Rama-Tut, Centurion, and Victor Timely. 

So how is all of this connected to High Evolutionary? It isn’t. 

High Evolutionary and Kang the Conqueror are both geniuses with evil plans 

Since High Evolutionary debuted in the MCU, fans have been developing various theories about how perhaps High Evolutionary is simply a Kang Variant. If we’re going by the source material, the comics, we can 100 % guarantee that High Evolutionary is not a Kang variant. In the MCU, we cannot guarantee it with absolute certainty since we don’t know how writers will develop the story, but we can say that it is highly unlikely. 

The confusion, or rather, hope, stems from the fact that High Evolutionary and Kang the Conqueror are brilliant geniuses with evil plans, and their costumes have similar color schemes. But their goals are vastly, drastically different. 

High Evolutionary wanted to create a perfect society and cleanse it of corruption through intensive genetical engineering. Thus Counter-Earth and Humanimals were born. Kang the Conqueror wanted to deal with his variants, and they exiled him to Quantum Realm. We don’t know what exact motivation Kang’s variants have, as their story is still developing. 

As you can see, High Evolutionary has nothing to do with multiversal time travel, and Kang has nothing to do with creating perfect species. Besides, all variants of Kang in the MCU were played by Jonathan Majors, while High Evolutionary is played by Chukwudi Iwuji, two different actors. This leads us to our second point. 

Fans are calling for Chukwudi Iwuji to replace Jonathan Majors 

Kang’s debut in Qunatumania felt a bit flat, and many fans were disappointed with the lack of a proper villain since the Thanos era. In the MCU’s defense, it’s highly unlikely that the villain that will become such a pop culture phenomenon will appear in the near future. These things take time. 

Then, Chukwudi Iwuji debuted in GotG 3 as High Evolutionary and absolutely killed it. The delivery of the lines, the brutal cruelty of his performance, his instability. Everything was perfect, and even though High Evolutionary wasn’t explored in much depth, Chukwudi Iwuji ‘s performance was one of the movie’s highlights.

Many fans were absolutely thrilled with the performance, and some even rallied on social networks and asked that Kang be recast as Chukwudi Iwuji.

It’s a solid idea, especially following Majors’ arrest in New York City due to alleged assault charges. The assault charges led many fans to think that Majors might be recast, although nothing has been confirmed. Just to remind you, Majors should appear as another variant of Nathaniel in the second season of Loki, which has finished filming. However, his role as the main villain in the pre-production crossover Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is uncertain, and it’s difficult to predict if he will retain the role before filming begins.

If Majors were to be recast, we’re really hoping that Chukwudi Iwuji will be the one to assume the mantle of Kang, even though this seems far-fetched and highly unlikely. 

To sum everything up, High Evolutionary is NOT a variant of Kang, and they are not even connected in the MCU so far. They are both brilliant, and High Evolutionary looks like Centurion a bit, but other than that, there are no similarities between them. Of course, we can’t say for the future of the MCU, but it’s highly unlikely.