Captain America's MCU Return: Will Chris Evans Be Young Or Old Steve Rogers?
With rumors about Chris Evans returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Captain America, a big question emerges: would he be a young or old Steve Rogers? The MCU has become the biggest and most popular connected universe of superhero movies thanks to its tone, stories, and the performances of its cast, and while its first wave of content – the Infinity Saga – has now come to an end, this universe will continue its expansion not only on the big screen but also in the world of streaming with a long list of TV shows coming to Disney+.
The first three phases of the MCU introduced the characters that were going to lead this universe, beginning with Iron Man in 2008. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) shared part of that leadership with Steve Rogers/Captain America, and Marvel decided to pit them against each other in Captain America: Civil War. The consequences of the Civil War conflict could be felt all the way to Avengers: Endgame, where Iron Man and Captain America joined forces again to get the Infinity Stones through the time heist and later lead the rest of the MCU heroes against Thanos and his armies. Endgame also marked the end of their arcs, with Iron Man sacrificing himself and Captain America staying in the past so he could live the life he wanted alongside Peggy Carter, and while he retired, the door was left slightly open for his return in the near future.
Now, Chris Evans is reportedly in talks to return to the MCU as Captain America, though he later shared a tweet that hints at this being just a rumor, but it could be a way to trick the audience, given Marvel’s legendary secrecy. Evans is said to be returning for an unspecified Marvel project that could be a movie or a TV show, now that the studio is properly branching out into TV, unlike what it did with Netflix’s Marvel shows. The last time the audience saw Evans’ Steve Rogers, he reunited in their present-day with Sam Wilson to pass on the mantle of Captain America to him after staying in the past to live a normal life. As it’s unclear if he will return in a movie or TV show and which one, Steve Rogers could either return as his young or old self – if it’s a movie set in the MCU’s present-day, old Steve would be the option, but as there’s a lot of work involved in turning Chris Evans into an old man, it would be a lot easier to bring him back as young Steve.
The return of a young Steve Rogers is possible thanks to Avengers: Endgame, where Scott Lang, Tony Stark, and Smart Hulk found a way to use the Quantum Realm to travel in time so they could retrieve the Infinity Stones and undo Thanos’ snap. In addition to that, the MCU is set to fully explore the multiverse in its upcoming projects, and as the team created different timelines during the time heist, young Steve Rogers can certainly appear in future movies and/or TV shows without undoing his Avengers: Endgame conclusion. This also means it might not be the Steve Rogers fans know so well, the one who fought against Iron Man and was on the run after it alongside Black Widow, instead being one from another timeline and who has gone through different experiences, so his personality would also be very different.
Chris Evans’ return as Captain America is an exciting idea not only because he became a favorite among MCU fans but because there are a variety of ways in which he can return, all thanks to this universe now using time travel and the concept of the multiverse. Fans are especially excited to see him back as Steve Rogers as they are not satisfied with the conclusion his arc got in Avengers: Endgame, so this would also be Marvel’s chance to make up for that.