By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
In response to diminishing box office returns and the public’s increasing superhero fatigue, Marvel decided to bring out one of the only forces in the universe more powerful than Thanos: nostalgia. We already knew that Robert Downey Jr. was inexplicably coming back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Dr. Doom, a worthy (if confusing) foe for the Avengers to fight in their next big cinematic showdown. Now, The Wrap is reporting that Chris Evans will also be returning in Avengers: Doomsday, and while fans worldwide are celebrating, I’m here to warn Marvel fans that this return is destined to disappoint.
Fan demand to see Chris Evans return to the MCU (in Avengers: Doomsday or any other film) has been growing since the actor appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine. His appearance was something of a bait-and-switch, as fans were excited for the return of Captain America only to find out that Evans was actually reprising his role as Johnny Storm from the Fantastic Four films. The news that Evans will be in the next Avengers film has fans hungry to see the real Cap’s triumphant return, but I’ve got bad news for those fans. Basically, the Chris Evans you see in Avengers: Doomsday will be anything but the real Cap.
Among hardcore Marvel comics fans, the most likely theory is that Evans will be playing the Beyonder, a powerful cosmic entity who will assume the familiar face of Captain America. This is exactly what happened in the 1985 comic series Secret Wars II, in which the Beyonder came to Earth and decided to make himself look like Cap. Considering that the movie will lead directly into Avengers: Secret Wars, it’s a pretty safe bet that Chris Evans will be playing a Beyonder who simply looks like Captain America in Avengers: Doomsday.
Let’s say that fan speculation is wrong, though, and that the beloved actor doesn’t play Beyonder in the next Avengers film. In that case, we’re probably going to get a more controversial incarnation of the character: Hydra Cap, a bizarre character created in the wake of the 2015 Secret Wars comic event. As the name implies, this is an evil version of Cap who works for Hydra, and while this character’s story was extremely controversial to comic fans, I wouldn’t put it past the Russo Brothers to troll fans by bringing Hydra Cap to the big screen.
It’s possible that Marvel execs will find some secret, third character for Chris Evans to play in Avengers: Doomsday, but I’d bet all the diplomas in Reed Richard’s office that the MCU legend will either play the Beyonder or Hydra Cap. Why am I so convinced that he won’t play the real Captain America, though? In addition to the fact that Cap was an old man by the end of Endgame, it would just be bad writing and marketing to bring back the “real” Cap almost right after the debut of Sam Wilson’s first film as Captain America (a movie whose cursed production schedule means that it already needs all the help it can get).
I’m confident that Chris Evans will act his heart out in Avengers: Doomsday no matter what…after all, his playing Johnny Storm and not Cap didn’t keep him from giving a hilariously vulgar performance in Deadpool & Wolverine. However, I’m here to remind nostalgic fans to temper their expectations heading into this film, as Evans will inevitably be playing a very different character just as Robert Downey Jr. is. And once Marvel fails to deliver what everybody’s collective nostalgia is truly crying out for, the result may be the kind of box office disaster that makes The Marvels look like a cinematic masterpiece.
Source: The Wrap
