Marvel's Kevin Feige Hesitated to Cast Chris Evans as Captain America at First

When it comes to casting, few franchises are as invested as the Marvel Cinematic Universe with its picks. Studio head Kevin Feige has made it his mission to ensure the film franchise feels as authentic as possible, and fans have applauded him for his efforts. However, that does not mean things have always gone easily with casting, and Feige owned up to one of those snafus recently.

During a recent piece by The Hollywood Reporter, fans were given a look into Chris Evans' career. Readers learned plenty about the Captain Americastar, and they found out from Feige himself about Marvel Studios' hesitancy to cast Evans.

Why? Well, Johnny Storm made the team pause for a bit.

"We thought, OK, well, he's that character. Let's keep looking," Feige said, nodding to Evans' part in the first Fantastic Four films which 20th Century Fox oversaw.

"As we [continued] not finding people, we went back to the initial lists. And that brought us back to Chris. And I thought, well, Patrick Stewart played Jean-Luc Picard and Charles Xavier. Harrison Ford played Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Who cares?"

So, there you have it. It turns out Evans' previous work within the Marvel Universe was nearly his undoing. The actor did flame on in the Fantastic Four films years prior to Captain America's debut, and his take on Johnny Storm was received well enough. It seems the team at Marvel Studios weren't sold on the idea of reusing an actor at first, but Feige's vision became clear; Evans was the man meant to play Steve Rogers, and fans are glad the studio came to its senses. After all, Evans' portrayal of Captain America is one which Iron Man's Robert Downey Jr. says cements the MCU together, so it is hard to imagine the franchise without the Bostonian star attached.

So, are you glad Evans was picked in the end? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Avengers: Infinity War is now available on home video, and Captain Marvel is now in theaters. Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movies include Avengers: Endgame on April 26th, and Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th.

-----

Have you subscribed to ComicBook Nation, the official Podcast of ComicBook.com yet? Check it out by clicking here or listen below.

In this latest episode, we talk about Avengers: Endgame run time, Zack Snyder divulging a bunch of plans he had for the DCEU and more! Make sure to subscribe now and never miss an episode!