In Avengers: Endgame, Captain America helped defeat Thanos and later returned the stolen Infinity Stones to their rightful place in the timeline. However, rather than returning once his mission was completed, Steve Rogers chose to remain in the past for a happy ending with Peggy Carter.
He did eventually return to the MCU's main timeline, albeit as an elderly man who decided to present his shield to his friend, Sam Wilson. That character's transformation into the new Captain America was covered in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, but there was no sign of Steve there, leaving fans to wonder if he might have died off-screen.
During a recent interview with Disney D23 Podcast (via ComicBook.com) to promote Lightyear, Evans elaborated on why he's in no rush to return as Captain America in any form.
"No, I don't think so," the actor responded when asked if he'll play the hero again. "I mean it was a really unbelievable ride and the character's just so dear to me and I'm just so precious with it. The truth is, the role isn't even mine anymore. The role is Anthony Mackie's."
"So, you know, even if there was a different incarnation, not as Captain America, but you know for Steve Rogers, even that would feel...I'd be very cautious, just because I love that chapter of my life professionally, personally," Evans continued. "I love what those movies accomplished and to revisit it and potentially have some weird extension to that legacy would be upsetting if it didn't land. So it would require a near-perfect recipe and it may just not be in the cards."
There's always a chance Evans is playing coy, especially when reliable sources have reported on his eventual return. However, he makes a lot of valid points here, and Steve staying on the shelf, for now, would be no bad thing. After all, Sam has only just become Captain America, and while the former Cap could serve as a mentor, that hero needs to stand on his own two feet.
Should The Russo Brothers eventually return to the MCU to make Secret Wars, though, we'd be shocked if Evans doesn't suit up as a Captain America Variant for that project at least...