Though he lost the Captain America role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Chris Evans, John Krasinski still jokes with his fellow actor about it. One of the big “what if” questions from the early days of Marvel Studios’ now-wildly successful comic book franchise pertains to the role of Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger. Both Krasinski and Evans were on the Captain America shortlist, with Krasinski even doing an audition in the costume, but the role ultimately went to Evans. In the decade since, Evans has starred in three Captain America solo movies and four Avengers films.

In last year’s Avengers: Endgame, Evans’ Captain America retired, choosing to use the newly discovered time travel tech to return to the 1940s and spend his life with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). At the end of the film, old man Steve met up with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) to pass on his shield and the mantle of Captain America. The upcoming Disney+ show The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will explore Sam becoming Captain America and what it means going forward for Steve Rogers to have hung up the shield. But for Krasinski, who’s currently gearing up to launch his latest movie A Quiet Place: Part II, he’s looking back at his brush with the MCU.

In an interview with Esquire about his career, Krasinski spoke about missing out on the Captain America role, how he holds no ill will toward Evans for getting the part and that they actors still joke about their shared MCU history. Krasinski said:

It’s good to hear that Krasinski has a sense of humor about ultimately losing the Captain America role, as he and Evans can now joke about it. While there are undoubtedly fans of Krasinski who wished they could have seen his take on Steve Rogers, the praise for Evans’ Captain America seems to indicate Marvel made the right casting decision. As Krasinski pointed out recently, he wouldn’t have been able to make A Quiet Place if he’d been playing Captain America, so it all worked out for both actors. And now the shield is being passed on to a new star in Mackie - though fans will likely still hold out hope for Steve Rogers to return to the MCU as Captain America someday down the line.

People have a sense that some of us are insanely competitive. I’ve known Chris forever. So as soon as they said Chris Evans got the part, I was like, yeah, look at that guy. Are you kidding me? He is Captain America. And I just saw Chris a couple of weeks ago and we were still laughing about it. I said, ‘I love that you retired in my role.’

For his part, Krasinski is a fan-favorite for the MCU’s Mister Fantastic whenever Marvel Studios reboots the Fantastic Four following Disney’s acquisition of the X-Men and Marvel’s First Family. The actor has said previously and in his new talk with Esquire that Marvel hasn’t contacted him about potentially playing Reed Richards, but he’d be open to discussing the role. So even though Krasinski may have missed out on joining the MCU all those years ago, there’s still a chance he’ll join the franchise in one of its future phases - and in a role that’s perhaps even more suited to him. For now, it’s still fun to hear how Krasinski and Evans joke about the Captain America role.

Next: Sebastian Stan Shades Captain America & Bucky’s Ending In Avengers: Endgame

Source: Esquire

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