When Chris Evans left the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the end of 'Avengers: End Game,' it truly did seem like he, alongside Robert Downey Jr., was done with Disney's nearly 20-year old superhero franchise.
And up to now, he's managed to stay out of the Marvel universe. But a new report from Deadline claims that Evans is returning in the Joe and Anthony Russo directed, 'Avengers: Doomsday.'
According to the report, it's not known what role Evans will take up in his Marvel return. Anthony Mackie's Sam Wilson is supposed to be Captain America in the new film, so we probably won't see Evans in the iconic costume. He could be Steve Rogers.
However, it is possible that he returns as a different character a la Downey Jr. who is making his return as Dr. Doom battling against the latest Fantastic Four quartet played by Pedro Pacal, Joseph Quinn, Vanessa Kirby and Ebon-Moss Bachrach.
Previously, Evans said that he would need a strong reason to come back. Since being in the last Avengers movie, Evans worked with the Russo brothers opposite Ryan Gosling in the spy-thriller The Gray Man for Netflix.
Recently, Evans dipped his toes back into the hero genre with a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine. Though in that movie he was playing his original Marvel super being —Johnny Storm from the early aughts 'Fantastic Four' that also starred Michael Chiklis and Jessica Alba.
Up until now, the Russo brothers have directed four MCU movies; 'Captain America Winter Soldier', 'Captain America Civil War,' 'Avengers: Infinity War' and 'Avengers: Endgame.'
Since Endgame, Marvel Studios and Disney have struggled with the succeeding Marvel movies and shows with more flops than hits. It's a combination of genre-fatigue, bad movies, worse shows, seeming confusion over the multiverse, and controversies with various actors involved in the current MCU.
Bringing back the Russo brothers and some of the bigger names from the first 23 movies in the Marvel arc smacks of attempting to capture lightning again. At the very least, the next Avengers should be interesting.
'Avengers: Doomsday' is supposed to have a release date of May 1, 2026 with a sequel, 'Avengers: Secret Wars,' planned for May 2027.
