Kevin Feige: No, Chris Evans isn’t returning as Captain America

At the end of Avengers: Endgame, an elderly Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) gave his Captain America shield to Sam Wilson, aka the Falcon (Anthony Mackie). That sets up The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, a new Disney+ show where Sam and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) will grapple with what kind of heroes they want to be in a world where Rogers is no longer out there setting an example.

Steve Rogers is still alive, and naturally, fans are wondering if he might make a cameo in the show. Industry rag Deadline added fuel to that fire last month when it reported that Evans was in talks to return as the character, but the actor himself disavowed the news:

Now, rumors about this or that Avenger coming back run rampant on the internet, but Deadline is a serious publication not in the business of reporting on speculation, so their word carries more weight. I mean, Marvel basically just resurrected Vision on WandaVision; who’s to say they can’t de-age Steve Rogers and get him back in action?

The rumor has gotten so much buzz that Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige has addressed it. “I rarely answer no to anything anymore because things are always surprising me with what happens,” he told Entertainment Weekly, “but that rumor, I think, was dispelled rather quickly by the man himself.” See above.

Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan both claim ignorance about Chris Evans returning as Captain America

Anthony Mackie also weighed in, saying he has “no idea” what was going on with Evans. “I was actually fishing [when the report came out]. When I came back in to get some shrimp, the dude at the dock was like, ‘Hey, man! Did you see this s—?!'”

"I’ve been going to the same guy to get my bait for like 20 years and all of a sudden now he’s a fan. He had no idea who I was. Now he’s a fan….Marvel’s so secretive, and it’s so ridiculous about what we know and what we don’t know…The dude at the dock selling me shrimp knows more about what’s going on with Marvel than I do."

Finally, Sebastian Stan threw in his two cents: “Anything is possible, right?” he asked. “I saw he tweeted something about it. So, I don’t know. I feel like usually he knows what to say in those things, so I didn’t know what to make of it. And I truly don’t have any intel on that. I feel like you can’t ever think of the words ‘Captain America’ without thinking about Chris Evans. He’s done such an amazing job with it, and I feel like he’s always going to have this presence. And he has a presence in our show.”

So it sounds like a Chris Evans return isn’t in the cards, but honestly, I’m not sure that matters. Rumors like this don’t burn out because someone within the organization says they’re not true. They burn hot as long as there’s excitement, and there’s plenty of excitement to go around among MCU fans.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres this Friday on Disney+. We’ll have our eyes peeled.

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