Chris Evans will return as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel has confirmed. Back in December, MCU directors Joe and Anthony Russo released a first-look clip of Evans on social media.
“The character that changed our lives. The story that brought us all here together. It was always going to come back to this…” they captioned it.
Noting that Steve’s return had been in the pipeline for “probably years”, Nia DaCosta, the director of 2023’s The Marvels, told Inverse: “I got to walk around to the set that they show on the teaser.”
Clarifying that she knew Evans would be back long before she visited the set in 2025, DaCosta added: “I knew that Captain America was coming back for probably years.”
The news comes as surprising development, as fans originally believed that Evans would not be involved. “I mean, it’s sad to be away. It’s sad to not be back with the band,” he told ScreenRant in June. “But I’m sure they’re doing something incredible, and I’m sure it’s going to be that much harder when it comes out and you feel like you weren’t invited to the party.”
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While the actor managed to keep his return under wraps, now that the secret is finally out, the Russo brothers have shared their excitement. Speaking with Empire Magazine (via Comicbook.com), they said: “His central role to the Avengers and the larger narrative of what the MCU has been is something that’s very personal to us. We can’t see this narrative without his central role in it.”
While Steve’s storyline has yet to be revealed, the teaser has given fans a glimpse of his new life as a father after reuniting with the love of his life, Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame.
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When we last saw Steve, the fan favourite had completed his final mission, using the Avengers’ time machine to return the Infinity Stones to their rightful places. But, in a surprising and heartfelt twist, Steve took some advice from his late friend Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and decided to stay in the past, where he could finally live the life he had always dreamed of with Peggy.
When he returned to the present, an elderly Steve told Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) he’d lived a “beautiful” life before handing over his shield and naming him the next Captain America. “You want to tell me about her?” Sam asks. “No, I don’t think I will,” Steve replies, before a flashback shows a reunited Peggy and Steve slow-dancing to a song in their living room in 1949.
Avengers: Doomsday will land in UK cinemas on 18 December 2026.
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Megan is a freelance news reporter for Digital Spy.
