There’s been strong rumours this week that Chris Evans may be returning to the role of Captain America. Evans, an in-demand actor, made the character his own over a string of the Marvel Cinematic Universe-related movies (Captain America – The First Avenger, CA: The Winter Soldier, CA: Civil War, Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame).
Evans had made it clear after that final Avengers movie that he felt he was done with the character and that Steve Rogers had been given an excellent swansong. Though it’s expected he’ll give his voice to the character again in the animated What If..? series coming from Marvel (which takes key events from the comics pantheon and wonders what would have happened if things turned out differently) it did seem unlikely we’d see him playing the role in any live-action way. But several reports this week, including from industry site Deadline, claimed that Evans and Marvel were seriously talking about him reprising the character in a new deal. Though Deadline noted that the belief was the deal would mean Evans/Rogers appearing in other Marvel movies rather than standalone Captain America outings – akin to the way that Robert Downey Jnr./Tony Stark appeared in the Spider-man movies – the piece was vague on specifics and did not say the deal had been finalised.
Though it caught the interest of MCU fans, it has to be noted that Evans has tweeted in response to the claims with a virtual shrug, saying simply ‘News to me‘. That’s not an outright denial (and Evans admitted he was enjoying the responses to his tweet from supportive fans – including Jamie Lee Curtis saying she wants to play his mother!) and there’s certainly form for actors refusing to confirm their casting until the ink is dry and all parties are happy to announce, but it could indicate there’s some way to go. However it could also make sense that Marvel, in the wake of sadly losing Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther, want a guaranteed moral centred-character in the mix and Captain America (be he the young or old version) would be an easy fit and surefire stand-by.
The upcoming The Falcon and the Winter Soldier series on Disney+ (which has finished filming and is due in March) looks at the legacy of Steve Rogers and his iconic character and the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness film (coming in 2022 as things stand) is rumoured to involve parallel time-lines, so there’s definitely scope for more references to Cap in the future (or past).
