Chris Evans Won’t Rule Out Captain America’s MCU Return

Chris Evans isn’t too eager about the idea of returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Steve Rogers/Captain America, but he won’t rule it out either. As the Infinity Saga came to a close in the Joe and Anthony Russo-directed Avengers: Endgame, it also marked the end of the journey for some of the universe’s most beloved heroes. However, unlike Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow and Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark/Iron Man, the Star Spangled Avenger actually survived the Thanos (Josh Brolin) debacle and lived a full life with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).

Steve’s ending was made possible thanks to the the same technology that allowed the Avengers to travel back in time to collect all six Infinity Stones before Thanos got a hold of them in Avengers: Infinity War. After returning the elemental crystals to their original time settings, he decided to return to the late 1940s and reunite with Peggy. Depending on who’s asked, this either created an alternate MCU timeline or a secondary Captain America lurking around since 2011. Regardless of what’s supposedly canon, it was arguably the best way to cap off the character’s story.

This is also one of the primary reasons the actor isn’t jumping on the possibility of returning to the MCU and reprise his beloved character. During the latest installment of Variety’s “Variety Studio: Actors on Actors,” Evans (who’s promoting Knives Out) sat down with his fellow Marvel alum Johansson (although she still has Black Widow in the pipeline), where she asked him about his thoughts on stepping back into Captain America’s shoes in the future. And while he cites the fact that he’s getting too old for playing a very physical role, he also wants to preserve the ending that Steve got in Endgame.

“Everything clicks when I get up. Recovery is not the same. You never say never. I love the character. I don’t know. … It’s not a hard no, but it’s not an eager yes either. There are other things that I’m working on right now. 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. … It doesn’t feel, at this time, that would be a thing. … It’d be a shame to sour that. I’m very protective of it. 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.”

Even with his clear apprehensions, Evans isn’t ruling out the idea – especially if Marvel Studios is able to find a story that genuinely calls for him to reprise the role. Considering that he’s technically a centenarian in the primary MCU timeline, chances are that any appearances in future narrative won’t require him to perform rigorous fight sequences, effectively addressing the actor’ concerns about doing them. However, if there’s any unexplored Captain America narrative fans want to see the most at this point, it’s the years he lived with Peggy. There’s a strong premise there, although whether or not that’s in the cards for the universe remains to be seen.

In any case, it’s probably for the best to hold off any plans of bringing back Evans as Rogers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Like the death of Tony Stark, having them return in any capacity in the universe will more likely cheapen their respective send-offs in Endgame. For Captain America in particular, the mantle has already been officially passed to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) any way, and having Evans back will arguably make it more difficult to establish the new version of the hero. That being said, if in years down the road, the actor is up for a nostalgic cameo, it’s safe to assume that everyone would be excited about that.