Chris Evans Confirmed Captain America is in Avengers: Secret Wars - MCE Notices | California State Portal

Avengers: Doomsday (2026) is right around the corner, and it’s safe to say that it’s the biggest Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) event since Avengers: Endgame (2019). It’s not a secret that the MCU has been struggling since the end of the Infinity Saga. Even the movies that have done well haven’t seen the box office returns that Infinity Saga installments have, either.

Doomsday has a lot riding on it because it can make or break the future of the MCU. Robert Downey Jr., who previously played Tony Stark, will finally be returning to the franchise, this time as Doctor Doom. Robert Downey Jr. isn’t the only highly anticipated return, though, as many popular characters will be returning, like Tom Hiddleston’s Loki, Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, and Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers. Steve Rogers’ return to the MCU came as a surprise, but Evans recently confirmed he would also be appearing in Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).

Chris Evans Quietly Confirms Avengers: Doomsday Won’t Be His Last MCU Appearance

Image via Marvel Studios

The last time we saw Chris Evans appear in the MCU was in Deadpool & Wolverine. Evans made a cameo as Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm because, before Evans took up Captain America’s shield, he played the Human Torch in Fantastic Four (2005) and its direct sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). Evan’s Johnny died a horrible death in Deadpool & Wolverine, killing off any chance that he would reprise the role again.

The last time fans saw Evans as Steve Rogers was in Avengers: Endgame. As Captain America, Steve helped lead the Avengers to victory against Thanos and his Infinity Gauntlet. Once Thanos was defeated, which cost the team Tony Stark’s life, Steve decided to travel back in time to before he crashed into the ice and froze. This allowed him to experience a life with the love of his life, Peggy Carter. Fans even got to see an older Steve Rogers meeting with Sam Wilson in the present to pass Captain America’s shield onto him.

To be fair, this was a controversial conclusion to Steve’s story. Many fans pointed out that Peggy had a life after Steve, which Steve completely robbed her of. Some were put off by the reality that Steve knew Bucky was under Hydra’s command for decades and did nothing to help him. Others felt that Tony, a character who had a wife and a young daughter, sacrificing himself in the end, was unfair. Steve deserved a happy ending, but the way Endgame went about giving him that ending felt a twinge nefarious.

Fortunately, Chris Evans is one of the many people confirmed to return for Avengers: Doomsday, so fans hope that his role in the film will address some of the issues with his Endgame ending. This announcement came as a shock to many fans who believed that Chris Evans was done with the MCU, but recently, Evans actually confirmed that his MCU journey won’t end with Doomsday.

Evans recently made a video as an anniversary gift for one of his fans, a woman named Jessica. Her husband, Edward, reached out to Evans for the video and asked if he could reveal any information about the upcoming Avengers projects. Evans had this to say: “I can tell you that I start work on the next one in a couple of months. Um, so I’m in the next one. There’s that. I can’t tell you how much I’m in the next one, but I’m in it. So, that’s something. It’s crumbs, but it’s all I can do. You know the deal, Marvel’s a little too strict.”

As Evans says in the video, this information is barely more than crumbs, but it does confirm one important thing: Chris Evans will appear in Avengers: Secret Wars next year. Currently, Evans is one of the only members of the original cast confirmed for the 2027 movie.

Steve Rogers’ Return to the MCU Could Be Temporary

In December, Steve Rogers got his own teaser trailer for the upcoming Avengers film, officially confirming that Chris Evans would reprise his role in Doomsday. The teaser shows a retired but still young Steve riding a motorcycle to his secluded farmhouse. He tucks his Captain America uniform away in a box and then goes to hold his baby. This gives the vibe that Steve is retired and living happily with his family, but it also asks a lot of questions.

When we last saw Steve, he was an old man who had lived his entire life, so what time period does this teaser take place in? Will Steve be traveling through time to join the Avengers in the fight against Doctor Doom? Will Doomsday retcon Steve’s Endgame ending? Is the child he’s holding his and Peggy’s baby, or has Steve settled down with someone else? Needless to say, fans won’t get these answers until the movie hits theaters on December 18, 2026.

The teaser does establish one thing, though, and that’s how Steve has left his life as Captain America behind. He seems perfectly happy to be a father, to focus on his family, and to leave the superheroism to the younger generation. This story arc mirrors the story arc Tony Stark goes through between Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame, where he has retired from his life as Iron Man and focused on having a family with his wife, Pepper.

Putting this layer of Steve’s life into the mix means that he has something he wants to get back to. He might leave his family to protect them from the next big threat, but his end goal will always be to get back to his life with his family. He can go back to superhero life with a family, but it will never be a safe or secure way of life. Not to mention, the mantle of Captain America has already been passed on to Sam Wilson, so Steve can’t really just swoop in and reclaim that title.

While fans are excited about Chris Evans’ return, it’s very likely that his role in Avengers: Secret Wars might be his final MCU appearance. Marvel is already playing with fire just by bringing Evans back, because while his send-off in Avengers: Endgame did come with some complications, it ultimately did showcase Steve choosing his own happiness. Fans agree that Steve deserves it more than most characters, so undoing that ending by bringing him back is a huge risk. Hopefully, whatever Steve’s fate turns out to be, Doomsday and Secret Wars won’t strip everything away from him just to bring him back.