Who Could Replace Chris Evans As Captain America?

Chris Evans may be one of the founding members of Marvel’s superhero team the Avengers, but it’s widely believed that the actor’s days in the role of Captain America are numbered.

So will Evans walk away from the biggest role of his career so far, and how would the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continue without one of its key players? The answer is actually quite complicated.

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Let’s start at the beginning with why Evans - whose acting career outside of Marvel is lacking in major box office hits - would want to quit playing Captain America in the first place.

Why would Chris Evans leave Captain America behind?

Marvel famously loves signing up its actors on huge multi-picture deals. It allows them to pick and choose the characters they want to appear in their rapidly expanding universe of sequels and crossovers, which in turn is fundamental to the success of Marvel.

Bit-part players like Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow or Samuel L Jackson’s Nick Fury can crop up in any film in the MCU, reminding you that the movie is part of a much wider world. In effect, these extended cameos serve as an advert for the other movies.

Chris Evans was one of the few key players who baulked at the idea of signing up for a 9-picture deal like Samuel L Jackson did. “I was like, ‘I can’t do nine’,” he told Collider. “But even six - you can do six over ten years. It is a big commitment.”

Evans is four films into the deal if you count this summer’s ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’ which means, unless he re-ups his deal, his Marvel commitment will end after the release of ‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016) and ‘Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1’ (2018).

The actor has been vocal about wanting to spend more time directing films than appearing in them, once his contract is up, so it’s safe to assume that unless Marvel start paying him Robert Downey Jr. level money (the ‘Iron Man’ star was paid $50m for ‘Avengers’), then Evans will be ready to walk away from the MCU after ‘Infinity War – Part 1’.

What’s going to happen to Captain America?

Steve Rogers’ flag-waving hero is such an integral part of the ‘Avengers’ it seems inconceivable that Marvel would recast him partway through the biggest ever event in the MCU.

‘Infinity War Part 1’ is likely to bring together every Marvel hero to date including the Guardians of the Galaxy (and possibly its new Netflix stars like Daredevil and Luke Cage) in a massive showdown with Josh Brolin’s uber-villain Thanos.

Before that happens though, Captain America has his own solo film coming up, the highly-anticipated ‘Captain America: Civil War’ which will see him facing off with Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man.

Beware – possible plot spoilers coming up.

Fans of the comics will know that ‘Civil War’ is a huge cataclysmic event in the Marvel universe. It sees Earth’s mightiest heroes divided by a piece of legislation that calls for superheroes to join a register and act as a sort of super global police force.

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Iron Man leads the pro-registration heroes, while Captain America forms an opposing anti-registration group which leads to huge showdowns between the two camps. This is expected to form the basis of the storyline for the third ‘Captain America’ film, which will heavily feature Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man.

Crucially though in the comics, one of the key fallouts of that storyline was the death of Captain America. Steve Rogers is assassinated while in the custody of SHIELD, creating a power vacuum in the Marvel world.

While this may not be how it pans out in the films, it does lead us to believe that Captain America could die at the climax of ‘Avengers: Infinity War Part 1’.

After all, that would be one hell of a cliffhanger and it would provide the impetus for Marvel’s seemingly disparate roster of heroes to assemble for an almighty showdown with Thanos in ‘Part 2’.

Could Captain America return?

It’s very rare for people to stay dead in the world of Marvel, both in the comics and in the movies (see Agent Coulson, Nick Fury etc).

In the comics, Captain America lived on with Bucky Barnes (Steve’s childhood friend who went on to become The Winter Soldier) taking over the mantle, before Steve Rogers returned from the grave.

More recently, though Sam Wilson AKA The Falcon (played in the films by Anthony Mackie) replaced Steve Rogers as Captain America, so Marvel has many options available to them, if Chris Evans decides to quit the role for good.

Seeing a new face take on the iconic shield in the movies, wrestling with the weight of responsibility, would make for a pretty good storyline post ‘Infinity War’ but who’s likely to take over?

Who could play Captain America next?

The obvious choice would be Sebastian Stan. ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ ended with Bucky visiting the Captain America exhibition in Washington, his memory seemingly on the road to recovery. His transition from the dark side to the light seems inevitable.

Stan is signed up for a 9-picture deal with Marvel, so they clearly have big plans for the star, but could that plan involve becoming the next Captain America? It’s possible, but does he have the charm and charisma to headline a Marvel film? We’re not so sure.

Anthony Mackie, the other actor who could potentially assume the mantle, thinks Stan’s the man for the job telling comicbook.com last year, “I’m excited to see Sebastian play Cap. I think Sebastian’s a great actor. But I love seeing Chris Evans as Cap, so I feel like they can go any way they want. I’m enjoying my part beside Cap. I’m in no rush to be Cap.”

Mackie would be a much cooler choice if you ask us. America has a black President so why not have a black Captain America too? He would bring some much-needed levity to the part, after Evans’ brooding portrayal of Steve Rogers. One huge problem with this is Wilson’s obvious lack of superhero powers.

Out of leftfield, another solution would be to pass the part on to someone else like Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton. After all, there’s no sign of a solo ‘Hawkeye’ movie any time soon, so this could be Renner’s opportunity to take centre stage in the Avengers.

Or, Marvel could just decide to give Captain America a rest for a few years before they decide on a new star to take on the role. The studio has all its movies planned up to 2019 which means they don’t necessarily have to make a decision until after the release of ‘Avengers: Infinity War Part 2’.

Who do you think should play Captain America next? Cast your vote in our poll below or leave us a comment with your suggestions.

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Image credits: Disney/Marvel