Avengers, disassemble. Chris Evans, who played Captain America for nearly a decade in the MCU, is not returning to Marvel for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. At least that’s what he told Esquire in a profile of his former co-star, Anthony Mackie.
The interview with Mackie occurred on the same day as Deadline’s report about Evans returning to Marvel for Avengers: Doomsday. Mackie, who will play the new Captain America as Sam Wilson, had no prior knowledge of Evans’ involvement with the next Avengers movie.
“I didn’t know!” Mackie said. “I talked to Chris a few weeks ago and it wasn’t on the table then. At least, he didn’t tell me it was on the table, because I asked him. I was like, ‘You know, they said they’re bringing everyone back for the movie. Are you coming back?’ He goes, ‘Oh, you know, I’m happily retired.’”
According to Mackie, he learned about Evans’ return through the story with the rest of the world.
“I learned that right there. My manager showed me. He’s like, ‘Oh, so I guess Chris is coming back,'” Mackie explained. “That’s all I know. I haven’t seen a script.”
It’s one thing for Mackie to report what Evans told him. It’s another thing to hear from Evans, who spoke to Esquire in the same interview and denied his involvement in Avengers: Doomsday.
That’s not true, though,” said Evans when asked about the report’s accuracy. “This always happens. I mean, it happens every couple years, ever since Endgame. I’ve just stopped responding to it. Yeah, no. Happily retired!”
Could Evans be lying? Absolutely. It wouldn’t be the first time a Marvel actor lied about their involvement in an MCU project. Take Andrew Garfield, for example. For nearly a year, Garfield denied participating in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Yet Garfield ended up reprising his version of Peter Parker for the movie.
At the end of Avengers: Endgame, Evans’ Steve Rogers passed his shield and the identity of Captain America to Sam Wilson. By the end of the Disney+ series, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Wilson finally donned the Captain America uniform, signaling a new era for the superhero.
Mackie’s Captain America now headlines his first solo movie in Captain America: Brave New World, in theaters on February 14, 2025.
