Chris Evans Returning for Avengers: Doomsday: Great Idea or Pandering

Courtesy of Marvel Studios

The first teaser trailer for Avengers: Doomsday is officially out, and it confirms Chris Evans will be returning as Steve Rogers. The teaser didn’t give much else away except that Steve will officially be a father when he returns next year. Steve Rogers hasn’t been in the MCU since Avengers: Endgame, where he returned to the past to live a happy life with Peggy Carter, and as an old man, he gives Sam Wilson the Captain America shield and mantle. Back in the spring of 2019, when Avengers: Endgame came out, it seemed like the end of an era. Chris Evans confirmed it. Marvel was ready to move on with Sam Wilson as the new Captain America, alongside other superheroes like Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, and Black Panther, to become the new faces of the MCU.

A lot has changed since then. The COVID-19 pandemic hit, which changed the production of MCU movies for a couple of years, leaving many projects delayed. The MCU no longer has the love it once did. The critical reviews aren’t as strong with some movies and shows getting mixed reviews. The box office is big for some characters like Spider-Man, Deadpool, Doctor Strange, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, but weak for some like Captain Marvel, Ant-Man, and others. 2025 was the first year a DC movie outperformed Marvel movies at the box office. People are not as excited about the new characters as they once were about Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.

When the Russo Brothers were announced as the directors for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars back in 2024, it seemed likely Chris Evans would return. He came back to play his version of Johnny Storm in Deadpool & Wolverine, which came out right around the same time, so he seemed open to returning. It seemed more likely when Robert Downey Jr. was announced as Doctor Doom. Then, in December 2024, news broke out that Chris Evans was going to be in Avengers: Doomsday, but his role was unknown. Around this time, Hayley Atwell was confirmed to be returning in Avengers: Doomsday. Evans tried to play the Andrew Garfield role of denying his involvement, but the recent teaser confirmed it. Right now, people seem torn.

On one hand, people are excited. Chris Evans’s performance as Steve Rogers was well received and people enjoyed the character. Before his official return was confirmed, only one original Avenger, Thor, was confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday. People want to see if he will interact with any of the new MCU characters introduced after Avengers: Doomsday, like John Walker or Reed Richards. They want to see him reunite with Sam and Bucky. At the same time, people are annoyed that Marvel could be undoing Steve’s happy ending and heavily relying on nostalgia like they have been known for doing in The Multiverse Saga and trying to bring back themes from The Infinity Saga, like the Chris Evans vs Robert Downey Jr. dynamic. They feel Marvel is conceding that post-Avengers:

Endgame has been a failure. They also believe this means Sam Wilson will no longer be Captain America, and Marvel is conceding to those who never fully accepted Sam as Captain America.

I get the concerns. The MCU introduced a lot of new characters in this saga that weren’t fully utilized. I get fans not wanting to go back to the same old thing. Yet, it makes sense in a multiverse event movie like this. Let’s be honest. It’s no surprise that Chris Evans is returning to an Avengers movie that will be a multiverse movie directed by the Russo Brothers and starring Robert Downey Jr., even if Downey is playing Doom. The Russos even said that after the confirmation was official, it was always going to happen. They got their start in the MCU directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The character means a lot to them.

Recent multiverse movies like Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine confirmed that with the multiverse, anyone could come back. Spider-Man: No Way Home brought not only Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s versions of Spider-Man back, but their villains, many of whom died in previous movies. Deadpool & Wolverine brought back Hugh Jackman as Wolverine despite Logan looking like the last time he would play the character. The movie also saw Wesley Snipes return as Blade and Jennifer Garner as Elektra. Robert Downey Jr., who seemed done with the MCU, came back as Doom despite us having no idea what version of Doom this is, and if he’s a variant of Tony Stark. As mentioned before, Evans came back to play his version of Johnny Storm from the 2000s Fantastic Four movies.

No one complained about those characters returning. Is it really that big of a deal if Steve Rogers returns? After all, Steve never died, so it’s not like they are undoing an emotional character death. If Chris Evans ever wanted to return, the door seemed slightly opened for it to happen. Just because Steve got his happy ending with Peggy doesn’t mean it will get undone. The Russos wouldn’t bring him back unless they saw it connected to the big story. Perhaps Steve’s decision to stay in the past caused problems in the Marvel multiverse. There are fan theories suggesting that this messes with Doom’s universe. Avengers: Doomsday could finally address the long-term consequences of the Avengers going back in time to get the Infinity Stones to the multiverse beyond 2012 Loki going loose. While we’re happy Steve got his happy ending, there has to be some form of consequence to it.

For fans worried Steve Rogers will take away focus from new characters or even take back the Captain America mantle from Sam, don’t be. Marvel seems to have made it clear that Sam will be Captain America in Avengers: Doomsday. The teaser said Steve Rogers will return. That doesn’t mean he will be Captain America. If anything, I can see Steve rejecting the shield if Sam handed it to him, assuming they even reunite. Besides, the Russos made the decision for Steve to hand the shield to Sam. Why would they undo their own decision? As for main stars, based on Wikipedia’s cast list for Avengers: Doomsday, it seems like the top three names for Avengers: Doomsday will be Chris Hemsworth, Vanessa Kirby, and Anthony Mackie, with Pedro Pascal and Robert Downey Jr. the last two names mentioned. Chris Evans isn’t even listed with the other main actors like Florence Pugh, Paul Rudd, and Patrick Stewart, so he could have a small role. To be fair, the main actors listed and the order in which they are listed are the order in which Marvel announced the main cast back in March 2025. Chris Evans wasn’t even confirmed back in March. It’s likely he could have a big role in Avengers: Secret Wars.

As long as it makes sense for the overall story, Chris Evans returning as Steve Rogers should not be a bad thing. It’s exciting to revisit one of the best characters in the MCU. It will be interesting to see what Steve thinks about events that happened since he left, and if he feels any guilt. It will be exciting to see if he interacts with new characters like Yelena, John Walker, Shang-Chi, or any of the Fantastic Four and X-Men. New dynamics could make the film more interesting. It was a strength with Avengers: Infinity War. No one complained back when Spider-Man: No Way Home came out that the movie was pandering to fans of the old Spider-Man movies. No one should be complaining about Avengers: Doomsday doing that. People will still see the movie, and it will likely make a lot of money at the box office.

Are you excited to see Steve Rogers return in Avengers: Doomsday? Do you think this is pandering? Let us know in the comments below.