Beyond the Spider-Verse Trailer Leaks Online

Marvel Studios has become famous for keeping its biggest secrets under wraps, but hiding Chris Evans’ return as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday apparently required more than locked scripts and closed sets. Evans says he had to flat out lie about being involved in the movie.

The former Captain America star has opened up about the secrecy surrounding his return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, revealing that Marvel went to some unusual lengths to prevent his involvement from leaking during production.

According to Evans, his character wasn’t even identified as Steve Rogers in the Avengers: Doomsday script. Instead, Marvel gave him the codename “Luke Cage,” a reference to another well-known Marvel superhero.

“Within the script, my character was called Luke Cage,” Evans revealed while discussing the production. The fake name was also reportedly used as an additional layer of protection in case production information found its way outside the studio.

Mike Colter, Luke Cage [credit: Marvel Studios]

But keeping the secret went beyond paperwork.

Evans admitted that he publicly denied being involved with Avengers: Doomsday even after reports began circulating that he would return. With Marvel determined to keep Steve Rogers’ involvement hidden, Evans essentially had no choice but to play along.

“I had to lie,”

Evans said of the situation.

The secrecy makes sense considering how significant Steve Rogers’ return could be. Evans seemingly completed his MCU story in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, when Steve traveled back in time to return the Infinity Stones before choosing to remain in the past with Peggy Carter. An elderly Steve later passed the Captain America shield to Sam Wilson.

Exactly how Steve returns in Doomsday remains one of the movie’s biggest mysteries.

Evans has recently offered another intriguing tease, describing Steve Rogers’ upcoming story as “brutal.” He joked that directors Joe and Anthony Russo have always enjoyed putting Steve through difficult situations because his ability to keep getting back up is what makes the character heroic.

That could be particularly important considering Hayley Atwell is also returning as Peggy Carter. Marvel has yet to reveal whether Doomsday will feature the original Steve Rogers following the events of Endgame, a Multiverse variant, or something considerably more complicated.

Avengers: Doomsday [credit: Marvel Studios]

The movie is already bringing together one of the largest collections of Marvel characters ever assembled. Alongside Evans, the film features Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, Tom Hiddleston as Loki and several returning members of Fox’s X-Men franchise.

Whatever Marvel has planned for Steve Rogers, the effort that went into hiding Evans’ involvement suggests his return is far more important than a quick nostalgic appearance.

And somewhere out there, Luke Cage probably wants his codename back.

Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to hit theaters on December 18, 2026.