That Avengers: Doomsday teaser that landed online earlier this week was a bit more real than some fans realized, and it turns out that Chris Evans is, in fact, set to appear in the upcoming movie as Steve Rogers. In a day and age where virtually anything imaginable can be brought to life through AI, dubious fans who saw leaked footage of a teaser that seemingly confirmed Evans’ return assumed it was nothing more than a fake, though it has since been confirmed as a real teaser from Marvel Studios. Next month will mark the fifth anniversary of some of the first substantial rumors about Evans returning to the MCU.
Variety and multiple other publications have confirmed the authenticity of the teaser, which featured ominous music as a young Steve Rogers appeared to be putting away a Captain America costume while cradling a newborn. The teaser concludes with the promise, “Steve Rogers will return for Avengers: Doomsday.”
The last time audiences saw Rogers, he volunteered to travel back in time at the end of Avengers: Endgame to return all six Infinity Stones to their rightful place in the sacred timeline. Then, Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes saw an older Rogers appear on a bench, as he confirmed that he stayed back in time to rekindle his romance with Peggy Carter. While it is assumed the newborn Steve holds is his child with Peggy, fans will likely have to wait some time for this to be confirmed.
What Else Can ‘Avengers’ Fans Expect With ‘Doomsday’?
This first teaser landed online after news emerged that Marvel planned to release four different teasers for Doomsday, with each teaser being released a week apart in front of Avatar: Fire and Ash. This meant that, for fans to see all four teasers on the big screen, they’d have to see Fire and Ash four times. Given that the Avatar sequel opened internationally before it opened in the US, the teaser likely came from an international audience.
Fans know that dozens of characters from the entire roster of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will appear in Doomsday, but with Evans having denied his involvement in Doomsday for years, a teaser revealing Steve’s return took everyone by surprise. It’s currently unknown what characters the other three teasers will focus on.
Evans isn’t the only unexpected return in Doomsday, as the biggest shock was the reveal that Robert Downey Jr. would return to the MCU after his Tony Stark’s death in Endgame. However, rather than playing Stark, Downey is playing Victor Von Doom in the villain’s MCU debut. Technically, Doom has briefly appeared in the MCU courtesy of a post-credits scene in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, while Doomsday will be a more substantial appearance.
Downey isn’t alone in being an MCU actor who has pulled double duty, as Evans appeared in last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine, though as his former Fantastic Four character Johnny Storm. With that film featuring a cavalcade of heroes long absent from or never officially part of the MCU, the movie itself built up the idea that Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool would meet Steve Rogers, only for the movie to reveal Evans instead as Storm.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
