Anticipation is at an all-time high for Avengers: Doomsday to deliver a memorable experience worthy of succeeding Avengers: Endgame — a huge movie that reunited every big Marvel Cinematic Universe hero on the big screen. So how could Disney ever hope to top that? It's an extremely tough task, especially considering that fan favorites such as Iron Man and Captain America are now out of the picture. Fortunately, there's one way in which Marvel could still take audiences by surprise, and it's all thanks to the multiverse.
Deadpool & Wolverine and Spider-Man: No Way Home are proof that a well-executed multiversal storyline is capable of achieving big things while gaining the love of fans along the way. It's more than simply featuring big "cameos" just for the sake of it. It's about incorporating unexpected characters from alternate realities in big supporting roles to enhance the story. That's why everyone expected Avengers: Doomsday to keep the trend going, but it looks like one of the biggest "multiversal" stars won't be appearing in the movie even when it was previously confirmed otherwise.
Chris Evans confirms he won't be in Avengers: Doomsday
Speaking with Esquire, Chris Evans revealed he isn't going to show up in Avengers: Endgame. This comes after a report by Deadline claimed that the former Captain America star would be making a surprise comeback in Earth's Mightiest Heroes' upcoming adventure. With that in mind, it appears like Deadpool & Wolverine might be the last we see of Chris in the MCU.
"That’s not true, though. This always happens. I mean, it happens every couple years—ever since Endgame. I’ve just stopped responding to it."
We have two possible scenarios here: First and foremost, Chris Evans might be telling the truth, and he's just trying to keep our expectations in check so we won't be disappointed once the movie releases. However, there's also the other option: He's trying to Andrew Garfield himself out of the situation. Before the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, many leaks made their way online and multiple pictures showcased all three iterations of the wall-crawler together on set. Shortly after that, Andrew would go on to appear in many talk shows and deny any involvement in Tom Holland's trilogy-capper. Of course, now we know he was simply trying to mislead us, so could Chris be attempting to do the same?
To be fair, I'd expect Marvel to save the biggest surprises for a later point down the line and not Doomsday. After all, it's been reported that the upcoming movie will be all about the formation of Battleworld — an amalgamation of every Marvel Universe in existence. However, chances are we won't get to see much of this new world in which every superhero variant will live until the events of Secret Wars. Think of it as when Infinity War ended on a big cliffhanger for Endgame to deal with its repercussions. Maybe we'll get to see the same scenario here, with Doomsday ending on the collapse of the multiverse only for its follow-up to pick up the pieces later.
If that were to be the case, then the big and shocking cameos would come during Secret Wars and not earlier. Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man, Wesley Snipes' Blade, and Chris Evans' Captain America could all make an appearance to restore their previous homeworlds before Doom's intervention. Now the only question remaining is: What version of Cap would be the one to show up in the movie?
It's important to remember that Steve Rogers traveled to the past to live a quiet life with Peggy Carter during the ending of Avengers: Endgame. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo confirmed this decision resulted in a branched timeline — one from which the superhero could easily be pulled out when the multiverse collapses. So maybe there's a world where we don't see a variant of Cap in the future, but rather the same character we've seen grow on the MCU for many years now. Wouldn't that be something special?
With so much secrecy surrounding Marvel's biggest crossovers to date, chances are we won't get to discover if Chris Evans makes an appearance on Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars until the days of their release. But, for the time being, the best thing to do is listen to the star himself and assume his character won't make a comeback. In the worst of cases: We get exactly what we expected. But in the best scenario, we lose our minds yet again in another MCU movie courtesy of a shocking cameo.
Avengers: Doomsday will be released on May 1, 2026.