Folks, once again, continuity is more of a suggestion than a rule in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel has officially confirmed that Chris Evans is returning as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday, and the internet has responded exactly how you’d expect: screaming, celebrating, arguing, and a very justified side-eye toward how Sam Wilson keeps getting treated.
The confirmation comes via a teaser now playing exclusively in theaters ahead of Avatar: Fire and Ash. There is no official online release, despite leaks circulating. If you didn’t catch it on the big screen, Marvel’s response is essentially: sorry, guess you had to be there.
According to Variety, the teaser opens quietly. Steve rides a motorcycle up to a modest farm as a piano version of the Avengers theme plays. His blue helmet mirrors his Captain America gear. He pulls out the uniform, pauses, and reflects. Then comes the real curveball: Rogers is holding a newborn baby.
The teaser ends on a title card that reads:
“Steve Rogers will return in Avengers: Doomsday.”
Somebody tell Bucky Barnes the group chat just lit back up. Just kidding—he absolutely does not know what a group chat is.
The teaser then fades out on a countdown clock marking the time until the film’s theatrical release on December 18, 2026. Add the baby, and suddenly the MCU needs a daycare, a flowchart, and a firm stance on time-travel ethics.
Officially released this morning, you can watch the teaser below:
So what, exactly, is going on here, and why does it feel mildly illegal?
Because the last time we saw “America’s ass,” aka Steve Rogers, was in Avengers: Endgame. After returning the Infinity Stones, he chose peace over punching aliens and stayed in the past to live out his life with Peggy Carter. He later reappeared as an old man and passed his shield to Sam Wilson, played by Anthony Mackie, officially naming him the new Captain America.
And that handoff wasn’t decorative or temporary. It was intentional. and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier doubled down on that choice by directly confronting the racism tied to who America is “allowed” to see as Captain America, a baton that carried into 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World, which showed Sam Wilson could lead a feature film on his own.
Sam earning the shield wasn’t fan service. It was supposed to be progress. Which is why this teaser reopened a very raw wound, especially for Black fans and creators who have watched Marvel repeatedly hesitate to fully back its heroes of color.
One user, @Rawbertbeef, summed up the frustration perfectly:
“It honestly feels disrespectful. Steve got his happy ending. We have a Captain America. He doesn’t need to be the lead again.”
To Marvel’s credit, the wording feels deliberate. It’s “Steve Rogers,” not “Captain America,” which may keep Wilson firmly in the role. And in a saga where Tony Stark can become Doctor Doom, it’s fair to ask whether this Steve is still the guy we trust, or just another multiverse baddie waiting to be revealed.
And Mackie, for his part, sounds very optimistic.
In a recent interview with IGN, he described Doomsday as a return to Marvel’s golden era:
“Everybody’s excited. I feel with the script and having the Russo brothers back, it’s going to be great. It’s going to give the audience that old Marvel feeling that they always had.”
The cast list supports the hype. Chris Hemsworth returns as Thor. Sebastian Stan is back as Bucky Barnes. Robert Downey Jr resurrected as Dr. Doom, and Paul Rudd returns as Ant-Man. Danny Ramirez reprises Joaquin Torres, now fully stepping into the Falcon role.
Characters from Fox’s X-Men era are also joining the fold, including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, and Rebecca Romijn, with Channing Tatum officially reprising Gambit after Deadpool & Wolverine.
As expected, the Chris Evans announcement set social media off in every direction at once:
An additional teaser circulating online also visually confirms Chris Hemsworth’s return as Thor, further signaling that Avengers: Doomsday is leaning hard into a full-scale Avengers reunion rather than a limited nostalgia cameo.
This Avengers reunion is shaping up to be Marvel’s biggest swing since Endgame. Joe and Anthony Russo are back in the director’s chairs, with post-production and reshoots on their way. Speaking at this year’s D23 convention, the brothers called the film “bigger than anything we’ve ever done.”
According to The Direct, they added:
“This movie is, to say the least, a big one for us. It is bigger than anything we have ever done. We are bringing together so many of your favorite heroes to face one of the greatest threats to the MCU.”
On paper, Avengers: Doomsday looks like a premature victory lap. In practice, it’s a stress test. Marvel is putting it all on the table, showing that nostalgia plus a CGI-saturated scale of action can steady a franchise that has long struggled to recapture its post-Endgame dominance.
Not to mention, recent box office runs have shown that even crowd-pleasers aren’t immune to steep drop-offs, and audience trust isn’t automatic anymore.
That’s why the Sam Wilson backlash matters. This isn’t fans being precious about canon as much as it's frustration with the pattern of Black heroes being handed legacy roles without ever being fully allowed to own them.
Steve Rogers can come back; multiverses make that inevitable. But if Avengers: Doomsday wants to feel like evolution instead of retreat, Sam Wilson can’t be treated like a placeholder while Marvel rummages through its greatest hits.
The shield was passed for a reason. The question now is whether Marvel remembers why.
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