The Avengers: Doomsday Theory Could Perfectly Explain Chris Evans' Casting

In July 2024, Marvel fans were rocked by the announcement that Robert Downey Jr., Iron Man himself, would be returning to the MCU in the role of Doctor Doom in Avengers Doomsday. Now, Chris Evans has also joined the cast of the fifth Avengers installment, and there's no guarantee that he'll be playing the Captain America we know. Steve Rogers has been a fan-favorite freedom fighter since his MCU debut in 2011, and audiences were sad to see his send-off in 2019's Avengers Endgame. With the first Avenger now a senior citizen, it's unlikely that Earth-616 Cap will take back his shield from Sam Wilson. No. No, I don't think I will." Instead, we might get another variant of Steve Rogers, and not a very nice one. In 2016, comics readers who cracked open the first issue of Captain America Steve Rogers were stunned to learn that the star-spangled man has become an agent of HYDRA. It turns out that a variant of Cap from Earth-61311, with much darker sensibilities, has taken the place of the iconic Avenger. "...Hail HYDRA." In the Secret Empire storyline, this Steve ends up working with HYDRA to take over both SHIELD and the United States government, becoming known as the HYDRA Supreme in the process. He's finally defeated when the real Steve Rogers returns in an Iron Man-style suit thanks to the sentient cosmic cube known as KOBIK. If Evans does return as the HYDRA Supreme, or any other villain for that matter, it's likely that he and Downey would team up once again. This time, though, they'd be squaring off against a version of the Avengers that's missing two of their founding members. Heroes like Spider-Man and the Winter Soldier would have difficult times fighting evildoers that share their friends' faces. That said, there's no guarantee that Evans is playing a villain at all. The actor already shocked Fantastic Four fans in 2024 when he made It's possible that Evans could be preparing to revisit the Human Torch once again, but if he is, he probably won't be playing the same variant that met an unfortunate demise in the Void. "...We don't know that guy." "...We thought we did." If Evans does return as Captain America, and not a villainous version, it would likely be as a different variant, of which there are plenty throughout the multiverse. He could be the Steve Rogers of the Ultimate Universe, Earth-1610, or even the cat that's been combined with Doctor Strange to become the Soldier Supreme. The possibilities are endless, especially because there's still a chance that Evans is playing none of these characters at all. No one predicted that Downey would be playing Doom, so it's feasible that Kevin Feige is preparing to throw fans another major curveball. There's only one thing we know for sure. No matter who Evans is playing, we'll definitely be watching.