Oh God, no! Not again! Following in the footsteps of his fellow MCU actor, Robert Downey Jr.—the Iron Man-turned-Doctor Doom—Chris Evans is also set to return to the MCU (again!) with Avengers: Doomsday. According to The Wrap, the Captain America actor will be involved in some capacity, but the exact nature and extent of his role remain unknown.
Evans’ Steve Rogers bid farewell to the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Endgame (2019). While his character retired, the actor made a surprising return to the MCU in Deadpool & Wolverine as Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, reprising his role from Fox’s Fantastic Four movie series.
The returns of both Evans and Downey Jr. to the MCU suggest that Marvel might be more desperate than ever and potentially running out of fresh ideas. Bringing these iconic talents back for Doomsday feels questionable, even if they end up playing new characters. Yes, Downey will reportedly portray the evil mastermind Doctor Doom in the upcoming Russo Brothers’ directorial venture. However, any actor other than the Oppenheimer star could have brought some freshness to the character’s portrayal. With Downey in the film, fans are bound to compare his interpretation of Doom to his performance as Iron Man, which could diminish the impact of this iconic villain in Doomsday.
A similar issue may arise with Evans. His portrayal of Captain America was so definitive that it’s difficult to imagine anyone else in the role. Even if Evans makes a cameo as a different character or reprises his role as Steve Rogers from Endgame, it risks undermining the heartfelt sendoff that was so beautifully crafted for him and his character five years ago.
We don’t know how Marvel plans to make Chris Evans relevant again in the MCU. It’s likely he might only have a cameo appearance in Avengers: Doomsday. Giving him an extended role would undoubtedly steal the spotlight from other actors and their respective characters in the film. We’re definitely not holding our breath for how The Russo Brothers will handle Evans in Doomsday. Stay tuned for more updates.