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Credit: Marvel StudiosIt’s been four years since Chris Evans left the Marvel Cinematic Universe – but he’s already talking about his return.
From 2011 to 2019, Chris Evans portrayed one of the biggest names in the MCU: Captain America. Making his debut in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Evans established himself as a fan-favorite from his early days in the franchise and was soon put on the same superhero pedestal as Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man.
Captain America’s MCU Journey
Over the course of his Marvel Studios career, Evans made a grand total of seven appearances as the kid from Brooklyn turned supersoldier.
After finding himself a man out of time at the end of The First Avenger, Captain America was soon recruited to The Avengers (2012) and appeared in each subsequent sequel – as well as rounding out his own trilogy with Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Captain America: Civil War (2016).
Marvel being Marvel, Evans cropped up to make multiple cameos along the way. His few seconds of screentime remain one of the best parts of Thor: The Dark World (2013) – which, to be fair, isn’t exactly hard.
As Evans’ seven-film contract drew to a close, Captain America fans went into Avengers: Endgame (2019) expecting the worst. While it may indeed have marked the end of Steve Rogers in the MCU, his send-off ended up being the happier of the three featured in Endgame (sorry, Iron Man stans) as he returned to the past to reunite and grow old with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) and passed over the shield to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie).
Will Chris Evans Return to the MCU?
While Steve’s farewell seemed pretty final, the rules of the MCU were made to be broken. As the franchise increasingly embraces the multiverse and variants of beloved characters, there’s no reason why Chris Evans couldn’t pick up the shield once again. The real question is whether he wants to.
In a recent interview with GQ, Evans addressed the idea of returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Will he back? Maybe. But it would take a lot.
“I’ll never say never, just because it was such a wonderful experience,” he explained. “But I’m also very precious with it. It’s something that I am very proud of. And like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened.”
Evans explained that he is extremely conscious that returning to a beloved role – especially once that character has already undergone an ‘exit’ from a franchise – can come across as disingenuous. “I wouldn’t want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab or if it didn’t live up to expectations or if it just felt like it wasn’t connected to that original thing.”
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Basically, don’t expect to see Evans crop up in Captain America: Brave New World (2024) – if he ever returns, it will be “no time soon.” In fact, fans should get used to seeing Evans on their screens less in general. “Ultimately I really hope to just maybe act a little bit less in my life. I have a lot of other interests.”
Evans has expressed interest in directing more in the future, having previously led Before We Go (2014). He recently married actress Alba Batista at a secret Boston wedding attended by some of his fellow Avengers, including Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Robert Downey Jr (Iron Man), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow).
Some fans had theorized that Evans could return in Avengers: Secret Wars (2027), either as a Steve Rogers variant or his Fantastic Four (2005) character, Johnny Storm (AKA the Human Torch). For now, both options seem incredibly unlikely – especially the latter. However, considering the number of cameos rumored for the film, it’s not impossible.
Would you like to see Chris Evans return as Captain America? Let us know in the comments!