Is Chris Evans in Avengers: Doomsday or not? That’s the question giving Marvel fans a headache right now. You see, Deadline’s December 2024 report said he was … but Evans himself has said he isn’t. Esquire recently published an interview with Anthony Mackie to celebrate his first big screen outing as the new Captain America. The reporter touched base with Evans to see if he truly was returning to the franchise that made him a star.
Evans said the Deadline report was “not true” and “This always happens. I mean, it happens every couple [of] years—ever since Endgame. I’ve just stopped responding to it.” He then repeated something Mackie had already shared: his Captain America, Steve Rogers, was “happily retired.”
Is Evans telling the truth? Or is he lying to mislead us, like Andrew Garfield famously did in the months before Spider-Man: No Way Home came out? It’s worth pointing out that Hayley Atwell, who played Cap’s love interest, Peggy Carter, is also returning for Doomsday, according to Deadline. I can see why people want both characters to return because many people hated the milquetoast happy-ever-after they got in Endgame. But. BUT.
To be honest, I raised my eyebrows when the Deadline piece about the Evans announcement first hit. Quite a few people did. You see, I like Evans as Steve Rogers very much, but the fact of the matter is, Cap’s shield has already been passed on to Mackie’s Sam Wilson, the first Black Captain America. To bring Steve back after all that would be to steal Sam and Mackie’s thunder, and make it seem like Sam’s only function in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was to keep Steve’s throne warm for him.
As much as I like Steve, I like Sam even more. He’s been one of my favorite MCU heroes since Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and I look forward to seeing him shine in the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World. A lot of the promo for that movie has focused on the fact that Captain America is Black now, and in the current political climate, it feels vital that Captain America stays Black.
There’s also the fact that the MCU seems to have a nasty habit of repeating past glories rather than moving forward. New characters like Shang-Chi and Kamala Khan should be leading this upcoming phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and they’re just not. Instead, Robert Downey Jr. is coming back. Sure, he’ll portray Doctor Doom instead of the late Tony Stark, but his return reeks of desperation. Marvel needs to learn to survive without the old guard, and fast.
Ideally, Evans is telling the truth and not returning for Doomsday. Of course, now that I’ve said all that, watch him pop up in Avengers: Secret Wars instead.
Published: Jan 31, 2025 1:27 PM UTC