Chris Evans set to return to Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Doomsday

Marvel is hung-up on turning back the clock to 2019 when it had the biggest movie in the world, was making billions of dollars and bathing in the unadulterated of its legion of unquestioning fans.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Chris Evans is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a role in the upcoming movie, Avengers: Doomsday, which is set for a 2026 release.

The surprise move will reunite him with directors Joe and Anthony Russo and co-star Robert Downey Jr. – the latter announced his return with a god-like celebration at the San Diego Comic Con in July.

Evans, Downey Jr. and the Russos had all previously bowed out of the MCU in 2019 after Avengers: Endgame, passing the torch onto a new generation of stars and filmmakers. They each had long tenures in the game – Downey Jr. joined in 2008, Evans in 2011 and the Russos in 2014.

Their collective returns signals a Marvel Studios that is keen to capture a formula that had worked for them well in the past, and appeasing fans who have been more reticent to embrace newcomers in their superhero world.

It’s not clear if Evans will reprise his Steve Rogers/Captain America character, who was effectively “retired” out of the story. Evans had also previously played Johnny Storm/The Human Torch in an earlier iteration of The Fantastic Four onscreen.

Those movies were not considered canonical in the MCU (they had been made by 20th Century Fox and not Marvel Studios) but that changed when Evans made a cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine as Johnny.

The MCU opened the door to parallel universes, termed the multiverse, which means different versions of the same character, played by different actors, can exist together.

If Rogers was to make a comeback, it would undercut the cultural power bestowed on Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson, who took over the Captain America moniker in the MCU series Falcon and Winter Soldier, and is set to be the lead in the fourth Captain America movie, Brave New World, which is due for release in February.

There is also the chance Evans could play an entirely different character as Downey Jr. is set to do. Downey Jr. was revealed to be taking on the role of Doctor Doom, a famed villain of the Marvel comic books. Although it was not confirmed if this version of Doctor Doom had a connection to Tony Stark/Iron Man.

Evans’ MCU resume included the three Captain America movies (First Avenger, Winter Soldier and Civil War), plus four Avengers movies, and cameos in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: The Dark World.

Since leaving the MCU, Evans has appeared in Knives Out, Lightyear, Pain Hustlers and big-budgeted, made-for-streaming action movies Red One, The Gray Man and Ghosted. He also reprised his Scott Pilgrim vs the World role in voice form in the animated spin-off Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and was the lead in drama series Defending Jacob.

Marvel’s post-Avengers: Endgame slate has failed to match the commercial success of its earlier films with the exception of Deadpool & Wolverine, which is the second-highest grossing movie of the year so far.