Amid floundering performance and increasingly cold reception from critics and fans, Marvel is seemingly re-evaluating its plans for the upcoming Avengers: Secret Wars. Big casting rumors have been circulating on social media for the finale of the Multiverse Saga over the weekend, heralding some surprising returns.
According to the recent rumors, Robert Downey Jr. has already signed up to make a comeback in Secret Wars. Additionally, new reports suggest that Chris Evans is also on board to return as Captain America for the 2027 Avengers film. We still do not have an idea if both actors will play variants of themselves from another multiverse or as the originals.
The rumor was shared by well-known Marvel leaker MyTimeToShineHello on X. According to the tweet, sources have claimed that Chris Evans is coming back for Avengers: Secret Wars. The user did clarify that the information was prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike, so things may have since changed.
This was prior to the strike
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) November 5, 2023
The return of Captain America and Iron Man will be exciting news for fans of the original Avengers. Following the events of the Multiverse Saga, only Thor and Hulk are active members from the original team. There have also been talks that the Avengers will have a new leader, with Anthony Mackie’s Captain America or Tom Holland’s Spider-Man being eyed for the role.
Evans last appeared in Avengers: Endgame, where he passed on the mantle of Captain America to Sam Wilson. In the scene, Steve Rogers did not time travel back to the present but instead chose to stay with Peggy Carter and grow old.
Similarly, Iron Man perished in the battle with Thanos in Endgame. Tony Stark sacrificed himself to use the Infinity Gauntlet to undo everything that Thanos did with the “snap”, which in turn rendered the hero un-revivable – at least at the time.
With Evans and Downey Jr. presumably on board for the Multiverse story arc finale, the only remaining member of the team who has not been enlisted to return is Scarlett Johannson. The Black Widow star stirred controversy when she filed a lawsuit against Walt Disney for breach of contract.
Johannson argued in the lawsuit that the company violated the terms of her contract by releasing Black Widow simultaneously in theaters and Disney+. However, with former Disney CEO Bob Chapek out, it would be Kevin Feige’s task to fix the issue and facilitate Johannson’s return.
Fans are divided by the new casting rumors as there are concerns that the return of Evans, Downey Jr., and Johannson to the MCU would downplay the ending of Avengers: Endgame. Others are excited to see all six of the original members possibly reuniting again.
There have also been rumors that Marvel plans to recruit all possible characters for a major set-piece battle similar to the events of Endgame. This includes characters that are not yet part of the MCU like the X-Men, as well as old characters that are either dead or have been replaced. Given that this is the Multiverse Saga, anything is possible.
