Marvel fandom was blindsided by Thursday’s news that Chris Evans may pick back up his Captain America shield and return to the MCU—and so, apparently, was the star.
Reported by reputable entertainment outlets including Deadline, the surprising update involved an as-yet-unspecified deal for Evans to reprise his role as Captain America.
This revelation inspired mixed feelings among MCU fans. On one hand, Evans is one of the most popular Marvel stars. His departure from the Avengers franchise was also kind of a mess, so it would be cool to see him return for a more coherent send-off.
On the other hand, Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson (aka Falcon) is meant to be the new Captain America. The return of Steve Rogers might seem like a problematic echo of the longstanding Marvel/DC habit of rebooting a white male hero as a woman and/or a person of color before bringing back the original guy to overshadow his replacement. Plus, it was genuinely surprising to hear that Evans might return, because he previously seemed happy to leave the franchise for good.
Then came this tweet, which strongly suggests that Evans isn’t about to take back his Captain America shield:
Of course, it’s still possible that Evans will return to the MCU for a cameo role, and this is all a ruse to keep those contract negotiations quiet. Marvel is notoriously secretive, after all.
In a similar vein to The Mandalorian‘s roster of fan-favorite Star Wars cameos, Disney’s new raft of Marvel shows will be full of surprise roles for popular characters. Evans would be an obvious choice for the upcoming Samuel L. Jackson Secret Invasion series, which focuses on the shapeshifting alien Skrulls. It’s sure to feature at least one high-profile hero who turns out to be an alien in disguise.
But for now, fans should probably just take Evans at his word. We’ve got a new Captain America now, and he’s played by Mackie.
