- The main Avengers timeline will continue after Endgame without three important heroes: Black Widow, Iron Man, and the original Captain America.
- There have been some rumors about Iron Man returning to the MCU, and fans have wondered whether Chris Evans will ever reprise his role as Captain America.
- The actor made it clear during a recent interview that it would be too risky to revisit Steve Rogers.
Their numerous appearances entertained us for more than 10 years, but three of our favorite Marvel superheroes are out of the picture after Avengers: Endgame. Black Widow and Iron Man died, while Captain America retired in a separate timeline to finally grow old with the love of his life. Technically, Black Widow will be back for at least one more movie. Black Widow is the origin story Scarlett Johansson should have gotten years ago, but never did. Now that the movie’s finally ready, the novel coronavirus has forced
But Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans aren’t expected to appear in new MCU movies going forward. There’s been recent talk recently about RDJ reprising his iconic Iron Man role, and that’s great news for fans who hope to see the actor in the suit again. But the only way for that to work would be in prequels that precede the events of Endgame. Reviving Tony Stark for movies that follow Endgame would ruin Endgame. As for Evans, the actor suggested a few months ago that he’d consider playing Steve Rogers again.
But now he’s made it clear that it’s not happening.
Evans and Johannson interviewed each other for Variety last year, and the MCU inevitably came up:
“[Come back] to Marvel?” Evans said. “Wow. Everything clicks when I get up. Recovery is not the same. You never say never. I love the character. I don’t know.”
Johansson pointed out that Evans’ isn’t a “hard no,” but the actor said it’s not “an eager yes either.”
“I think Cap had such a tricky act to stick the landing, and I think they did a really nice job letting him complete his journey. If you’re going to revisit it, it can’t be a cash grab. It can’t be just because the audience wants to be excited. What are we revealing? What are we adding to the story? A lot of things would have to come together. […]
“I’m very protective of it,” he said. “It was such a precious time, and jumping onto the movie was a terrifying prospect to me. I said no a bunch of times, and there’s a million and one ways it could have gone wrong. It almost feels like maybe we should let this one sit.”
Evans appeared via voice call on The Graham Norton Show on Friday, where he said that his time as Captain America has officially come to a close. He seemed to be more definitive on the subject than before, per ComicBook. The actor said it would be too risky to return to the role, considering what happened in Endgame.
“Yes, I think it is [the end],” Evans said of his time as Captain America. “It was a great run, and we went out on such a high note that it would be risky to revisit it, in my opinion. It was such a good experience, and I think it’s better left that way.”
This might change, and we have no way of knowing what could happen in the MCU that might warrant a return. But I will say that, unlike Iron Man and Black Widow (who are now dead), there’s at least one more Steve Rogers story that might be worth telling, assuming it can be tied into the future of the main Avengers timeline.
Mind you, I said Steve Rogers for a reason. When he went back in time to meet Peggy in an alternate universe, he retired from being a hero. The events that took place from the moment he left Earth-616 at the end of Endgame to the moment he returned as a married old man might be worth exploring. What did Steve do all those years? If anything, the simple fact that he brought back a new shield needs to be addressed. Why did he feel the need to knight a new Captain? Him bringing back that shield for Sam ensures that there will be a Captain America on future Avengers teams. But why did he do it? According to Evans, we might never know.
