Why Chris Evans ended up returning to the Avengers after saying no for eight years

The former Captain America reveals that he has refused a dozen offers from Marvel since Avengers: Endgame. It was ultimately the return of Robert Downey Jr. that convinced him. He explains.

For a long time, Chris Evans thought the Steve Rogers story ended with Avengers: Endgame. To the point of refusing, for almost eight years, all proposals from Marvel Studios to return to the MCU.

In an interview given to Entertainment Weekly during San Diego Comic-Con, the actor says he declined no less than a dozen ideas before agreeing to return in Avengers: Doomsday. After filmingEndgame in 2018, Kevin Feige and producer Lou D’Esposito quickly offered to extend the adventure. Their first idea was to adapt Nomad, the alternate identity of Captain America that appeared in the comics in 1974:

“I wanted to preserve what we had done. Maybe I was a little too protective of this character.”explains Evans. I just asked them to keep coming to me with ideas.“

And Marvel didn’t hold back.

“Over eight years, I probably heard a dozen pitches. They were all excellent. But none really seemed right to me.“

Over time, the actor ended up convincing himself that his return would never take place. But everything changed when he learned that Robert Downey Jr. was also considering a return to the Marvel universe:

“My team called me to tell me there was a rumor going around that Robert was talking to Marvel…“

Shortly after, director Joe Russo explained the project to him.Avengers: Doomsday. And this time, something immediately clicks: “Suddenly, I said to myself: “That’s it!“

For Chris Evans, the presence of his former playing partner was the decisive element. Downey will return this time not as Iron Man, but in the role of Victor Von Doom / Doctor Doom, the great antagonist of the film. Captain America will face him. And then? Evans assures that he could reprise the role in the MCU sequel, if ever… Because he is “very attached to the character that I played in this universe.”

It now remains to be discovered which version of Captain America will appear in Avengers: Doomsdayexpected in cinemas on December 16 in France.