Chris Evans will officially make Marvel history in Avengers: Doomsday, where he reprises the role of Steve Rogers, a character he has played for over a decade. The actor's return was left uncertain after Marvel excluded him from the initial cast announcement, and Evans repeatedly denied the rumors, insisting he was "happily retired." The studio finally confirmed his comeback with the first Doomsday teaser in December 2025, placing Steve Rogers front and center. Now the actor is on course to make Marvel history as he battles Doctor Doom in the fifth Avengers film, which arrives December 18.
Chris Evans' return in Avengers: Doomsday will make him the first actor to battle Victor von Doom in three separate films. His first foray into Marvel's superhero world was as Johnny Storm in 2005's Fantastic Four. That film, part of the 20th Century Fox universe, saw Evans' boisterous Human Torch, Ioan Gruffudd's Reed Richards, Jessica Alba's Sue Storm, and Michael Chiklis' Ben Grimm take on Julian McMahon's Doctor Doom.
The movie reimagined Doom as a billionaire who bankrolls and joins the Fantastic Four's fateful space mission, the expedition where they're exposed to a cosmic storm that mutates their genes.
Doom gained metal skin and the ability to manipulate electricity before embracing his darker impulses. Evans' hotheaded Johnny Storm played a critical role in the climactic battle against this iteration of the villain.
After Victor fires a missile at Johnny and tortures Reed, the four heroes work together on the streets of New York to stop him. Johnny and Sue combine their powers to trap Doom inside an inferno, while Ben and Reed douse him with water from a fire hydrant.
The rapid cooling triggers thermal shock and freezes him solid. The film ends with his metal body shipped back to his homeland of Latveria in a crate.
Two years after that film premiered to mixed reactions, Evans returned as Johnny in the sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, a more ambitious outing that introduced cosmic heavyweights like Galactus and the Silver Surfer. Doom returned as well, with even bigger plans, after the Surfer's cosmic energy frees him from the metal prison the first film left him in.
Doom tricks the US military into capturing the Surfer, steals the alien's board, and escapes to Shanghai with its near-limitless power. Along the way, he impales Sue with a metal spear, nearly killing her.
This time, Johnny beats Doom almost single-handedly. Earlier contact with the Surfer gives him the ability to swap powers through touch, and Johnny absorbs the combined abilities of the entire team.
He battles Doom alone in the skies over Shanghai and rips him away from the board. Ben then knocks the villain into the harbor with a crane, and Doom sinks to the bottom of the sea. Now Evans gets to battle the Latverian monarch for a third time, a feat no other actor has achieved.
Chris Evans' Steve Rogers Plays a Critical Role in the Fight Against Doom in Avengers: Doomsday
As an experienced hero, Steve Rogers will be front and center in the fight against Doctor Doom. This version of the villain is a different animal from the one in the Fox movies, an iteration much closer to his comic book counterpart, wielding near-unstoppable power.
Steve will have to work alongside the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men to stand a chance against the Latverian dictator. Rumors making the rounds suggest Doom has a bone to pick with him. Steve's decision to travel back in time in Avengers: Endgame reportedly triggered incursions that destroyed Doom's world and cost him his family.
The first Doomsday teaser, the one that confirmed Evans' return, underlined how pivotal Steve's choice will be to the plot. It showed Steve holding the baby he had with Peggy Carter, in a setting widely believed to be Earth-828, the Fantastic Four's home universe.
The film's first full trailer, released in July, underlined Steve's importance further. He appears in the closing seconds, right after Chris Hemsworth's Thor declares that the heroes are going to need a miracle. A stunned Thor offers up Mjolnir as proof, and Steve catches it, still worthy.
The actor himself has teased how big the role will be, telling a packed crowd at Fan Expo Boston that "The Russos love beating up Steve Rogers," adding, "They keep finding new ways to kick his butt, but this one was brutal, and a really, really good examination into his nature and his values."
At the same event, he revealed just how far Marvel went to protect the secret of his return. He said Steve Rogers was called "Luke Cage" in the script and even on call sheets. And at CinemaCon, Evans explained what brought him back: "I said I would only come back if there was a real reason, and in Doomsday, there's a very real reason why these heroes need Steve Rogers." Another indication of just how key his character will be in stopping Doom.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
