Falcon and Winter Soldier actor Anthony Mackie on Chris Evans' potential MCU return: "I’ll be very happy with that"

Anthony Mackie in Captain America: The Winter Soldier
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel)

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier actor Anthony Mackie has said he would be “very happy” if Chris Evans returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, and reported by Comic Book, Mackie said: “You know, I've heard that, like I've seen that, and, look, Chris is my boy, so if they're getting the band back together, I'll be very happy with that.”

After the news that Evans might be returning to the MCU broke, the actor sort-of-denied the rumour on Twitter, posting: “News to me” with a shrugging emoji.

If Evans did come back, though, it most likely wouldn’t be as an active superhero – after all, the events of Avengers: Endgame left his character Steve Rogers seriously aged after he went back in time to live a whole life with Peggy Carter. The initial Deadline report indicated that there probably wouldn't be another Captain America film starring Evans, and he'd instead have a role more like Robert Downey Jr. post-Iron Man 3. This would leave Mackie’s Falcon free to take up (and keep) the Cap mantle.

However, Mackie has said that we don’t know for sure that his character will be the new Captain America. It seems very, very likely, but there’s always a chance Sam will keep his Falcon identity and just use the shield, or that he could end up handing the mantle over to his friends and allies Bucky Barnes or Sharon Carter. It’s even possible that newcomer US Agent will end up hanging on to the title...

Whatever happens, it’s good to know that Mackie would be happy to see Evans again, since the internet’s reaction to the rumour breaking was overwhelmingly positive. Could we be seeing Steve back in a potential second season of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier? Fingers crossed.

Until the Disney Plus series arrives this March 19 2021, check out everything we know about Marvel Phase 4, and find out how to watch Marvel movies in order for a catch-up marathon.

Molly Edwards
Entertainment Writer

I'm an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.