Avengers: Secret Wars is several years away, but that won’t stop the steady stream of rumors detailing Marvel’s plans for the Multiverse Saga finale. For years, we’ve heard reports that Marvel will draft a massive team of Avengers to fight against Kang and his acolytes.
Most of those reports also said that Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) will be returning, despite having died heroically in Endgame. However, Marvel has to find a way to make that happen without ruining that heartbreaking moment.
But it’s a lot easier to bring back the MCU’s original Captain America for Secret Wars. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) isn’t dead, and he has quite a story to tell. That’s why I’m actually just as interested in seeing the original Cap in Secret Wars as Iron Man.
And yes, I’d love it if Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) would return. For the moment, we only have rumors detailing the return of the Iron Man and Steve Rogers.
Beware that some spoilers might follow below.
Where is the MCU’s original Captain America?
The MCU already has a Captain America. Rogers retired and passed the shield to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is the story of Sam embracing the new role despite his initial reluctance. Next year, Captain America: Brave New World will show us the new Captain America in action, possibly creating his own team of Avengers.
After all, the MCU doesn’t have an active group of Avengers, something Kevin Feige confirmed on stage rather than Marvel making it clear via any of the MCU Phase 4 and 5 projects that hit theaters or Disney Plus since Endgame.
The new Cap will likely appear in Avengers 5 and Secret Wars alongside all the Avengers that Marvel is preparing to summon.
But where is Steve Rogers? Well, we know from the Endgame final scenes that he retired to a different reality where he got to marry Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). That’s not the question to ask. And it’s not old Steve Rogers who would join the Avengers in Secret Wars.
The Avengers: Secret Wars return
What I’m really curious about is what Rogers did from the moment he returned the relics at the end of Endgame to his old age. That’s a story Marvel can explore in the future, and one that I’d love to watch. Until then, I’d love it if we’d learn that Rogers actually fought the Secret Wars at some point after marrying Peggy.
It’s the multiverse, so it’s possible for an organization like the TVA to recruit Steve Rogers from the reality he retired to. Think about it, Steve Rogers would have to help defend the multiverse against Kang (or a different villain). Otherwise, his own retirement world might risk destruction.
That’s all speculation for now, but word on the street is that Chris Evans will return to the MCU for Avengers: Secret Wars. It’s well-known insider MyTimeToShineHello with the scoop, via Murphy’s Multiverse. Unfortunately, we don’t have specific plot details for this original Avenger’s return. But I will point out it’s not the first time we see such rumors in the wild.
What Chris Evans thinks about a return
Not only that, but Chris Evans routinely had to answer questions about a potential return to the Steve Rogers role. He seemed convinced he wouldn’t be back as Cap in interviews that followed the Infinity Saga conclusion.
More recently, he appeared more open to the prospect, though he was quick to say it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Here’s what he told GQ last September about a potential return to the Captain America role:
“Yeah, maybe,” he says. “I’ll never say never, just because it was such a wonderful experience. But I’m also very precious with it. It’s something that I am very proud of. And, like I said, sometimes I can’t believe it even happened. And I wouldn’t want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab or if it didn’t live up to expectations or if it just felt like it wasn’t connected to that original thing.”
“So, no time soon,” he continued. “And ultimately I really hope to just maybe act a little bit less in my life. I have a lot of other interests. Look, by no means have I climbed any sort of a mountain in this field. I have no Oscars and I’m not lumped with other names that are at the top of the mountain in any way. But I also feel very satisfied.”
One more surprise
Evans never mentioned Avengers: Secret Wars at the time. Also, other reports claimed the actor might appear in up to two MCU projects after Endgame.
Don’t be surprised if you see Chris Evans in a MCU movie that has no Avengers in the title, and where his role has nothing to do with Captain America. The same MyTimeToShineHello said a few days ago that Chris Evans will return to the MCU as soon as this year. He’ll play his version of Human Torch in Deadpool & Wolverine.