Although Chris Evans has insisted that he is “happily retired” from the MCU and won’t be returning to Avengers: Doomsday, I’m going to take these comments with a generous pinch of salt after Andrew Garfield denied his involvement in Spider-Man: No Way Home. To be perfectly honest, I’m expecting Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars to feature a cavalcade of MCU actors, both new and old. For example, we are already certain that Robert Downey Jr. will be returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom, and I don’t expect him to be the only legacy actor to appear.
While many MCU productions in the Multiverse Saga have sidestepped the multiversal narrative that should be pervading them at this point, it would make no sense for Avengers: Doomsday, the first of two Avengers movies to wrap up the saga, to follow suit. While Avengers: Doomsday story details are still forthcoming, we can be almost certain that it will center on the multiverse and feature variants aplenty. While RDJ’s involvement has given rise to rampant speculation that Chris Evans will join him, the Steve Rogers actor has recently refuted such claims – but I’m disinclined to trust him on this.
Chris Evans Denied Reports He’s Returning To The MCU For Avengers: Doomsday
The Steve Rogers Actor Claims He Is Retired
Reports began to surface in mid-December that Chris Evans was the latest MCU star to join the cast of Avengers: Doomsday, according to a report by The Wrap. Unsurprisingly, this supercharged the holiday season with speculation over his role, with the prevailing theory positing that he would be portraying a Captain America variant – specifically, an evil one. Two months later, Esquire quizzed Chris Evans himself on the report and gained a response, ostensibly learning straight from the horse’s mouth that these reports were unfounded and that he is “happily retired” from the MCU. His full quote is as follows:
That’s not true, though. This always happens. I mean, it happens every couple years—ever since Endgame. I’ve just stopped responding to it… Yeah, no—happily retired!
It’s unclear whether the events that Chris ᴀsserts happen “every couple years” refer to Avengers: Doomsday specifically, but it certainly speaks to his popularity. Despite ostensibly retiring in Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers is, for all intents and purposes, still alive in the MCU, so it’s no wonder why fans are theorizing about when Old Man Rogers will pop up again. Still, I think the return of a younger Steve Rogers, capable of getting back in on the action, is the preferable state of affairs.
Evans also insisted that he “stopped responding” to such reports, evidently referencing the fact that he all but allowed the rumor mill to churn away for two months before speaking out. His silence, for many, spoke volumes, and while I was initially disheartened to see him definitively put a stop to the conversation, I’m now beginning to doubt if he’s being truthful. We have, after all, seen another MCU actor read from this playbook before.
Andrew Garfield Denied Being In Spider-Man: No Way Home – Only To Actually Be In It
He Gave A Very Convincing Performance Before The Movie’s Release
Although he can’t be directly blamed, Andrew Garfield has kind of ruined the credibility of MCU actors who deny their involvement in an upcoming MCU movie. This is because, in the run-up to Spider-Man: No Way Home, Garfield was repeatedly questioned about being brought back as a Peter Parker variant in the movie, which he repeatedly denied. For example, when being interviewed by the Happy Sad Confused podcast in May 2021, Garfield repeated that he wasn’t called by Marvel Studios or Sony to return to the role, a clip of which can be seen below via X:
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Garfield also said as much to Variety in September the same year, stating, “…it’s important for me to say on the record that this is not something I’m aware I am involved in.” To be fair to Garfield, he wasn’t the only one fielding off these questions, as Tom Holland ᴀsserted to Esquire in February 2021: “No, no, [Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield] will not be appearing in this film.” Nevertheless, it seemed to be Garfield that was asked the most, and gave the most effusive repudiations.
This, of course, turned out to be an act. All but the most skeptical fans were stunned to see Garfield’s Peter Parker appear halfway through Spider-Man: No Way Home and go on to play a central role. In fact, Garfield was on top form as the funniest of the three Peters, and featured in a heart-rending moment with MJ as he successfully saved her life in a tragic callback to losing Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. While I think Garfield deserves praise for successfully throwing fans off the scent, it now puts Chris Evans in an unenviable position.
I’m Having Trouble Believing Chris Evans’ Denials About Avengers: Doomsday
Marvel’s Secrecy Policy Makes Believing Its Actors Harder Than Ever
Andrew Garfield’s impeccable acting ability was enough to fend off accurate reports that he’d be starring in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but it has now set a new precedent that other MCU actors will have to deal with forevermore. To put it bluntly, Garfield, Holland, and Maguire have proven that Marvel Studios has sanctioned outright deceit when it comes to dealing with the press. Now, when Chris Evans states, “Yeah, no- happily retired!” I can’t help but doubt him.
Shrouding its projects in mystery has become as much of an MCU trope as the post-credits scene or the superhero landing.
This goes as far as to treat anything but a categorical response to the effect of “I will not be in Avengers: Doomsday” as a tacit acknowledgment that Evans will, in fact, be in Avengers: Doomsday. In his interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, for example, Garfield stops short of outright stating he won’t be in Spider-Man: No Way Home and instead ᴀsserts that he hadn’t received a call. This, of course, could be entirely true. Instead, he omits the part where he might have been asked to star in the film via email or in person.
The blame here, of course, is with Marvel Studios and the unparalleled amount of secrecy surrounding its projects. Shrouding its projects in mystery has become as much of an MCU trope as the post-credits scene or the superhero landing. The MCU’s next movie, Thunderbolts*, is a prime example of this, as a firestorm of speculation surrounds what the тιтular asterisk represents. To be perfectly honest, I think this is good. Quashing a big reveal is infinitely worse than stoking uncertainty, and I’d rather be pleasantly surprised at Chris Evans’ MCU return – even if it isn’t in Avengers: Doomsday.
Why Chris Evans Has To Return For Avengers: Secret Wars If Not Doomsday
Marvel Can’t Bring Back RDJ Without Bringing Back Chris Evans
I feel like it would be remiss of Marvel to reintroduce RDJ to the MCU and not do the same for his co-star, Chris Evans, who is just as synonymous with the cinematic franchise. Avengers: Secret Wars is the perfect place to do this. If it adapts the 2015 run of comics as most expect, it stands to reason that plenty of Steve Rogers variants will populate Battleworld, an eventuality that extends to the remainder of the MCU’s legendary cast. At this point, I’d even be happy with Chris Evans returning as another character entirely.
There was also some confusion around Benedict Cumberbatch’s involvement in Avengers: Doomsday, as the actor said Doctor Strange would not feature before recently walking back those comments.
Chris Evans has already returned to the MCU once as Johnny Storm in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, and while I would much rather see him reprise his more famous role (preferably as the evil Hydra Supreme), I’m willing to settle for him following Robert Downey Jr.’s lead. The details of RDJ’s portrayal of Doctor Doom is another Marvel mystery, but it ostensibly continues the precedent that actors synonymous with the MCU can return as different characters. With that in mind, there are some interesting routes Marvel could take.
While another Johnny Storm or Captain America variant (like Nomad or Yeoman America) are the most obvious picks, it would be interesting if Evans mirrored RDJ’s portrayal of Iron Man’s opposite by portraying Steve Rogers’s own opposite, Red Skull. Alternatively, Avengers: Secret Wars could have fun by having him portray another beloved superhero team leader: Cyclops. Whatever the case, I don’t expect he’ll return after the Multiverse Saga, so here’s hoping that Evans is emulating Garfield, and we will, in fact, see him one last time in Avengers: Doomsday or its sequel.
Upcoming MCU Movies
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Thunderbolts*
- Release Date
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
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MCU Spider-Man 4
- Release Date
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July 24, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027
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Sources: Esquire/Happy Sad Confused/X/Variety
