Not unlike the “will he, won’t he?” debate that gripped the Internet back when Robert Downey Jr. was negotiating with Marvel about his MCU future beyond Iron Man 3, the contract of Captain America himself, Chris Evans, has been the subject of heated speculation over the past few weeks.
Initially, Evans hinted that his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was coming to a close, and that Avengers: Infinity War and its untitled sequel – which is currently slated for 2019 – would effectively close the book on his superhero saga. The intense production schedule coupled with the fact that his Marvel contract is nearing an end left the actor feeling a little burnt out – Infinity War and its follow-up are shooting back-to-back, remember – but it wasn’t long before Chris Evans back-pedalled, stating in no uncertain terms that he’d still be willing to extend his run in the MCU beyond 2019…only to pull another U-turn just yesterday. Ay-yi-yi!
Still with us? While it’s clear that Chris Evans is unable to divulge the exact specifics of Captain America’s arc – lest he give away spoilers regarding the character’s fate – you’d be forgiven if this saga has left you a little confused. Perhaps in an effort to direction attention away from his star-spangled hero, during his latest interview with USA Today, Evans claimed that Robert Downey Jr. is actually much closer to the exit door than he is, and may hang up the Iron Man suit once and for all after Avengers 4 slams into theaters in 2019.
Per USA Today:
“Downey is far closer to reaching that point where he may walk away. And I don’t know how you replace Downey as Tony Stark. I don’t know who else can touch that.”
As two of the most important pillars of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – and not just because of their titanic clash in Civil War – both Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. are almost indispensable in the grand scheme of things. But the days of Marvel leaning on a small pocket of A-listers are ostensibly over – think of how popular the Guardians of the Galaxy have proven to be – so it’ll be fascinating to see how the inevitable transition shakes out.
Avengers: Infinity War opens on May 4th, 2018.