If there are two actors who received the most outpouring of love and affection from MCU fans this year, it’s Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans. The two veterans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s decade long legacy had their swan song in Avengers: Endgame, and what a spectacular and moving end it was to their superhero characters.
Now, Evans has moved on to his next project, Knives Out, a family drama/murder mystery helmed by Rian Johnson of Star Wars: The Last Jedi fame. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about making the transition from playing an iconic superhero who embodies the spirit of selfless service in the biggest cinematic universe in history to playing one of the suspects in a smaller, more intimate setting of a whodunnit thriller, Evans termed the whole process as “pretty seamless,” saying:
“It is kind of a group mentality, so you’re still kind of collaborating with a lot of people, and it is kind of, strangely enough, a similar family dynamic. A different character — in the Marvel movies I play a guy who’s a little more taciturn, a little more selfless — and in this movie, I play a guy that’s a little more vile.”
Further adding that the daily routine of coming to set for a day of shooting was pretty similar for both films, Evans also admitted that he had just as much fun working on his new feature as he had on the sets of his Marvel movies:
“And to be honest, it was just as fun. Everyone on this set, everyone’s just here to have a good time and everyone loves what they do. It’s a real blessing.”
While the actor, who will always be remembered by fans the world over as the inimitable Captain America, appears to have made his peace with the end of his journey in the MCU, moviegoers are finding it a lot harder to say goodbye to the superhero who led the Avengers in their battles against Thanos and numerous other Marvel villains.
Joe Russo, who directed Evans in several MCU projects, recently commented on his need to have emotional closure on past work before moving on to new things, saying:
“Chris is a very emotional person. I think, maybe it’s evident if you follow him on Twitter — because he does put his heart into what he says — but I feel like he has to close the door on things and emotionally move onto the next thing.”
Chris Evans may be done with Captain America, but Cap is not yet done with the MCU. Furthermore, Evans will find that the massive amounts of goodwill his work with Marvel has generated among audiences will put him in good stead when Knives Out releases. Despite being a member of an ensemble cast, it’s obvious that the former Captain America will be the reason why many Marvel fans will be checking out the film when it releases on November 27th.