RUMOR: Chris Evans Returning as Captain America?
He can do this all day. Giant Freakin’ Robot has been told by its sources that Chris Evans will return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Secret Wars. Evans played Captain America for the first three phases of the MCU, appearing in nine films and acting as one of the two most central characters alongside Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man. The next movie with “Captain America” in the title, Captain America: New World Order, will be the first without Evans, starring Anthony Mackie’s Falcon in the lead role. It can be assumed that Avengers: The Kang Dynasty will be the first Avengers movie without Cap as well (or Iron Man, Black Widow, or whoever else they leave out of it). Giant Freakin’ Robot also says that Marvel is trying to get back other actors to reprise their Marvel roles across what is now the multiverse, including Nicolas Cage as Ghost Rider, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, Ian McKellan as Magneto, and Wesley Snipes as Blade.
That All-New, All-Different Marvel initiative must be going over just as well as Disney has assured us it is, right? I thought we had closed the book on the classic Avengers, and it was time for a more politically correct roster to take their place and show us why they were all racists or something – and in Cap’s case, I’m not even joking. Could this have anything to do with the dwindling Disney+ ratings, the underperformance of Eternals and “blockbuster hit” Shang-Chi, and the enormous success of Spider-Man: No Way Home? I think that’s safe to assume. Marvel and Disney can thump their chests all they want in the press, but counting the ticket sales from what is supposed to be their biggest moneymaker has a way of cutting through the spin. What remains to be seen is whether this is a reversal of their woke garbage or a ploy to get people to overlook their grating identity politics because characters they actually like are coming back, if only for, like, five minutes in the final battle. I’d guess the latter is more likely, especially since they’re seeking out someone like Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane. (Does that mean Tobey Maguire is on their call list?) But if they’re trying to replicate No Way Home’s box office, maybe they really will stop their nonsense and make a crowd-pleasing epic Avengers movie. Could you imagine if, for all their bellyaching about diversity and whatever else, the final battle ends up being Captain America, Iron Man, and the original Avengers lineup, plus Spider-Man, Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, Wesley Snipes’ Blade, and some of the old X-Men? It’s not likely, and they’ve got a long way to go to earn the audience’s goodwill back, but the hopeless optimist buried inside me wants to believe something legitimately great could happen.
Are you excited that Chris Evans may be returning as Captain America? What other Marvel actors from franchises past would you like to see show up in Secret Wars? How much will it take to coax Robert Downey Jr. to raise Tony Stark from the dead? Let us know in the comments, and stay tuned to Geeks + Gamers for more desperate attempts to win back fans!
