Chris Evans says reports of his return as Captain America are 'news to me,' and fans are heartbroken

• Chris Evans debunked reports of his MCU return by tweeting: "News to me."
• Deadline reported that Evans was nearing a deal to reprise his role as Captain America in a dramatic and unexpected return to the MCU.
• However, Evans' revelation has left fans heartbroken and disappointed, with one fan writing: "'Knives Out' was a great movie were all very proud of you but the multiverse needs you so put the suit on, sir."
• Fans sent in countless memes and gif reactions to Evans' tweet, causing him to respond: "Some of the gif responses are priceless good work, everyone."

Chris Evans has debunked reports of his MCU return, leaving fans heartbroken.

On January 14, Deadline reported that Evans was nearing a deal to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reprise his role as Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America.

The reports suggested that Evans would be returning with smaller roles as Cap, in the same way Robert Downey Jr. did in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" as Tony Stark.

But Evans dismissed any ideas of his return with one simple tweet late on January 14, writing: "News to me."

This proved too much for fans to handle after they were incredibly excited about the news of his dramatic and unexpected return. One fan paraphrased a fellow Avenger of Cap to express his disappointment, writing: "Don't do that to me, Cap."

Another fan wrote "heart been broke so many times," while someone else wrote, "'Knives Out' was a great movie we're all very proud of you but the multiverse needs you so put the suit on, sir."

Even Evans' on-screen mother from "Knives Out" Jamie Lee-Curtis responded tweeting: "Can I play your mother? In every film you do?"

Evans replied saying: "It's going in the contracts x"

Evans seemed to be enjoying the responses to his heartbreaking tweet, as he later tweeted: "Some of the gif responses are priceless good work, everyone" alongside laughing emojis.

There were certainly GIFs aplenty, with material from the MCU being drawn upon extensively, like this altered "Avengers" poster:

Or Tom Holland's Spider-Man, AKA Peter Parker in pain:

Or even Cap himself:

Others broadened their responses a little to include content outside of the MCU:

Meanwhile, another fan didn't seem too bothered by the let down of no Evans MCU return, but they did have one request from the actor in these "trying times."

"We're living in really trying times. It would lift a lot of spirits if you would be so kind as to post a thirst-trap. Please & thank you," wrote the fan, harking back to Evan's unfortunate September incident in which he accidentally posted a nude photo online.

Real-life hero Chris Evans' MCU journey began in 2011 with "Captain America: The First Avenger" and concluded in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame" after a total of 11 MCU appearances. This included cameo appearances in "Thor: The Dark World," "Ant-Man," "Spider-Man: Homecoming," and "Captain Marvel."

Evans has previously been quite outspoken about his reluctance to return to the MCU after what was such a good send-off for him and Steve Rogers in "Endgame." In a 2019 interview with fellow MCU star Scarlett Johansson for Variety's Actors on Actors series, Evans said: "it's not a hard no, but it's not an eager yes either."

Evans, who is now working on other movies, said: "There are other things that I'm working on right now. I think Cap had such a tricky act to stick the landing, and I think they did a really nice job letting him complete his journey."

Evans added that if he was to return, "it can't just be because the audiences want to be excited." Evans said: "What are we revealing? What are we adding to the story? A lot of things would have to come together."

It is likely that Evans will be making less of a dramatic return to the MCU in some way, however. Although he hasn't officially joined the cast, it is highly likely Captain America will be featured in Disney Plus' animated series "What If...?" which currently features almost every other major MCU actor reprising their roles for the show, including Chadwick Boseman in his final performance as T'Challa. The series will debut in 2021.