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You heard correctly, folks: Chris Evans is coming back to the MCU, albeit in an unknown role. The Wrap was the first to break the story on December 9, confirming that the actor will return for Avengers: Doomsday in 2026. This announcement comes just a few months after we learned of the comeback of Robert Downey Jr., who shocked San Diego Comic Con attendees with the news that he would be in the film as Victor Von Doom. But just how shocked should we be about these MCU reappearances? After all, one rumor for over a year ago predicted that this exact thing would happen.

Let us explain.

In November of 2023, things were not looking great for Marvel Studios. The ongoing Jonathan Majors scandal had thrown plans for Kang the Conqueror into disarray, the year's MCU entries like Ant0Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels hadn't wowed critics or ticket-buyers, and the term 'superhero fatigue' was spreading like a plague across pop culture forums. In response, Variety published a widely-read article that, among other topics, touched on rumors of what Marvel was planning on doing to combat the dip. At one point in the wide-ranging editorial, the writers brought up the following rumor:

"Sources say there have been talks to bring back the original gang for an 'Avengers' movie."

While Variety never clarified exactly who those sources were, the recent announcements of both Downey and Evans' return to the MCU seem to suggest that they're good ones. Presumably, the "original gang" that Variety is referring to are the line-up from the 2012 Avengers film, including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, and Jeremy Renner. Of those six actors, three of their portrayed characters are confirmed to be still alive in the MCU. With the recent Evans news, we're only one actor (Johansson) away from seeing the original line-up in Avengers: Doomsday.

Now, the next obvious question is: will Chris Evans be returning to his role as Steve Rogers? You'll recall Popverse's previous reporting on Evans himself claiming that there are "more stories to tell" for the character, and yet both Avengers: Endgame and early episodes of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier have given Rogers a beautiful sendoff it would be hard to undo. Even more interesting, Deadline speculates that he will not be returning to his stars and stripes suit, after confirming that Anthony Mackie will be billed as "Captain America" in the film.

Will Evans follow in the footsteps of fellow ex-Avengers and take on a villainous role? Will he return as a Steve Rogers lost somewhere out in the multiverse? Or did we actually not see the last of Johnny Storm in Deadpool & Wolverine (eh, that seems unlikely). We may not know for a long, long time.

Avengers: Doomsday comes to theaters May 1, 2026. 

Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights:

• How Disney+'s What If...? is the moonshot for the next 50 years of Marvel Studios & the MCU
• Marvel Studios has accidentally created a new Phase that predates Phases 1 - 6: the MCU Phase Zero
• Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak
• The biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows
• Donald Trump is the landlord for Marvel's House of Ideas
• Marvel Studios swapping out Doctor Doom for Kang offers the chance to jettison the Multiverse Saga
• What Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is saying (and not saying) about the MCU X-Men franchise says a lot about the future of the Mutant Saga
• If Marvel is going to bring Loki back for Secret Wars, it's time to give him an upgrade
• With Daredevil, and spinoffs from Black Panther, What If, and more, Marvel Studios' 2025 Disney+ slate is bigger than ever, and that might be a big deal for the future
• If Kraven the Hunter flops, Sony's Spider-Man Universe could look for a Marvel-assisted reboot
• In 2021, Sony's boss said people won't miss Spider-Man in its Spider-adjacent movie. Turns out, they do.