In what is both a shocking turn of events and maybe one of the least surprising things ever all at once, Chris Evans is reportedly in talks to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Avengers: Doomsday - but it's looking like he'll be recast into a new character, much like Robert Downey, Jr's return as Victor Von Doom. It's a divisive strategy, especially kicking off with the RDJ reveal, but there's actually some very big potential for one of the MCU's most interesting and challenging twists lurking in the two pieces of news.
As a fan of the MCU since day one, and a Doctor Doom superfan, I have made very little secret of my, let's say, measured skepticism about Robert Downey, Jr's casting as Doom for Avengers: Doomsday and its sequels (I think I posted something like "Marvel is trying to ruin my life," when the news broke). Still, I've come around somewhat on the potential for what could be a great performance, if RDJ and Marvel Studios can really dig into what makes Doom great.
But it's actually Evans' inclusion in the film that's given me greater hope for a bigger picture that could make RDJ's turn as Doom downright genius, if Marvel Studios follows through on an idea that seems to be burbling beneath the surface: recasting all of the original Avengers as supervillains.
It seems telling that the reports of Evans' return for Avengers: Doomsday don't specify that he'll be returning as Steve Rogers, who he portrayed from 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger through 2019's Avengers: Endgame. If he's playing the character we all know, why not say so? There is, of course, the possibility he's returning as some version of Johnny Storm, as his version appeared in Deadpool and Wolverine. But given his gruesome death, that seems unlikely.
So that leaves the possibility that Chris Evans will return as a whole new MCU character, and if he does, Marvel Studios will seriously be missing a trick if they don't put him in the role of one of the film's villains. And if they're going there, both with RDJ and with Evans, why not bring in Scarlet Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, and Jeremy Renner to round things out.
There's so much potential in an idea like bringing back the original Avengers actors as villains - especially if they all team up in a kind of inverse of the classic Avengers, as the MCU's first proper supervillain team - maybe the Masters of Evil?
It's easy enough to speculate on who each actor might play. Evans could easily take up the mantle of the evil Steve Rogers from the Secret Empire comic event in which he was subverted by the Red Skull. Ruffalo could become the Maestro, Hulk's evil future self who is a dictator of the Marvel Universe. Or they could lean into something less expected, as they're apparently doing with RDJ's Doom, who is said to be Victor Von Doom rather than some kind of Tony Stark variant.
However they might do it, if Marvel Studios brings back the original Avengers recast as villains, it might actually be the shot in the arm that the studio has been looking for as fan reaction to many recent Marvel releases has been tepid. Deadpool and Wolverine, as an exception to that trend, proves that Marvel fans are ready and willing to accept those kind of turns for established and beloved MCU actors, and that there's still life in the MCU yet when the studio nurses the kind of blockbuster spectacle making that established it as the dominant force in pop culture fantasy.
Marvel should bring the original Avengers back as supervillains, because there's no bigger twist, no more indulgent stunt-casting, and no better way to challenge the new class than pitting them against a twisted version of the OGs. What more could fans want for the big return to form for the Avengers than a threat that feels both credible and truly dangerous, and which might even make us root for the bad guys?
So let's go all in. Marvel Studios, I dare you to shock me. I dare you to make me feel the gut-punch of seeing the most beloved heroes in movie fiction turning into villains. Let's take things to a level of comic book-inspired storytelling that still hasn't been achieved in the movies by making some sacred hamburger out of the established tentpoles of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's been long enough. Let's see what's really possible with superhero movies.
Come on Marvel Studios. I dare you.
Robert Downey Jr's casting as Doctor Doom is what convinced Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo to return to the MCU.
Avengers: Doomsday directors admit it's a "difficult" movie to make but tease some great Marvel collaborators "old and new"
The Russo Brothers say Robert Downey Jr. "tried to talk us into" doing another Avengers movie but they "said no" until they heard the pitch for Doomsday: "That story has to be told"
