Chris Evans seems to have hung up his shield for good. After playing Captain America for almost a decade, he tweeted an emotional message to his fans and colleagues.
“Officially wrapped on Avengers 4. It was an emotional day, to say the least. Playing this role over the last 8 years has been an honour. To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful.”
Officially wrapped on Avengers 4. It was an emotional day to say the least. Playing this role over the last 8 years has been an honor. To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful.
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) October 4, 2018
The actor’s exit from the MCU doesn’t come as much of a surprise as he’s been alluding to leaving the role for a while.
During the press tour for Avengers: Infinity War, Evans said he had no plans to return to the franchise once reshoots wrapped on the film.
“You want to get off the train before they push you off”, he said in an interview. “I don’t know what’s next – but by 2019, that’s it.”
Chris Evans was cast as Captain America in March 2010, beating out stars such as John Krasinski, Michael Cassidy, Scott Porter, Sebastian Stan and Chace Crawford.
Evans himself wasn’t initially sure if he would accept the role after Marvel offered it to him. Marvel’s Kevin Feige once said it was Evans’ mother who convinced him to take the role.
He first played Steve Rogers / Captain America in 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger. He went on to reprise the role in The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). He also had cameo roles in a number of other Marvel movies.
Following Evans’ retirement as Steve Rogers, another Captain America could rise in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the comics, Rogers has been replaced by characters who exist in the MCU such as Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), and Sam Wilson / The Falcon (Anthony Mackie).
With Sebastian Stan having four movies left on his Marvel contact (excluding Avengers 4), Bucky Barnes is probably next in line to suit up as a version of Captain America.
Evans’ Captain America had a relatively small amount of screen-time in Avengers: Infinity War, but the writers have said there will be much more Cap in the next instalment.
Fans of the actor shouldn’t worry too much. He’s currently working on a few non-Marvel projects. Reports indicate that he is joining Daniel Craig in Rian Johnson’s murder mystery movie, Knives Out.
He also has a thriller called The Red Sea Diving Resort coming up, as well as Neill Blomkamp’s, Greenland.
Chris Evans will make his final appearance as Captain America in Avengers 4 which opens on May 3, 2019.
