Warning! The Following Contains SPOILERS from Deadpool & Wolverine.Chris Evans is truly grateful to have been able to shout the words “flame on” once again on-screen in Deadpool & Wolverine. The A-list actor is best-known for his incomparable portrayal of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, before he donned his iconic red-white-and-blue wardrobe and wielded the trademark vibranium shield, Evans portrayed another superhero altogether.

Evans began his Marvel career playing the Fantastic Four’s hot-headed Johnny Storm, the Human Torch himself. And in an Instagram story post from Wednesday, July 31, Evans revealed a behind-the-scenes photo (below) along with a special thank you to Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and Shawn Levy. Evans wrote (via Instagram):

“Thank you to @vancityreynolds @thehughjackman and @slevydirect for letting me be a part of such an incredible movie!
They’re three of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.
Special thank you to Ryan
for making it all happen.
Playing Johnny again was a dream come true and he’ll always have a special place in my heart.”

Evans played the Invisible Woman’s (Jessica Alba) super-powered brother in both Fantastic Four (2005) and its only sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Fast-forward four years after the follow-up, and Evans was recast in the MCU and led 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger.

Deadpool & Wolverine 3.5/5 A follow-up to the highly successful Deadpool and Deadpool 2 films starring Ryan Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth. The third film will be the first in the franchise to be developed under the Marvel Studios banner following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox.Release Date July 26, 2024 Studio Marvel Studios, 20th Century Studios, 21 Laps Entertainment Tagline Everyone deserves a happy ending. Franchise Marvel Expand

When fans first spot Evans’ character in the Void, during Deadpool & Wolverine, it’s easy to see how many people would assume the actor was portraying Cap. But Johnny turned up the heat very quickly before Pyro (Aaron Stanford) absorbed his powers.

‘Ryan Might Be the Only Guy That I Would’ve Done It For’

Deadpool & Wolverine remains the No. 1 movie in the world. And while the film lives up to its R-rated hilarity and violence, one of the most exciting aspects of seeing the superhero flick for the first time is getting to gasp at all of those wonderful and surprising cameos. But if Chris Evans and Ryan Reynolds weren’t friends, Johnny Storm might not have shown up in the Void hiding from Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin). Evans said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly:

“Honestly, Ryan might be the only guy that I would’ve done it for because he’s just got the Midas touch.
His self-awareness makes him almost invincible. He makes the joke before the audience gets a chance to make the joke, so if you’re going to revisit a character, and you have to find a way to make it work.
Ryan’s humor makes just about everything work, so you feel an automatic sense of safety.”

Evans continued (below):

“I just had to fly in real quick, do a couple days of filming and fly out. For me, it was pretty easy […]
Primarily because where we find Johnny, he’s meant to be a little more rundown, so the costume didn’t have to be pristine.
Those first two movies, that’s when Marvel was really still trying to find their footing. So, everything had to be very precise and had a lot of meetings, a lot of opinions.
This was a little more like, ‘Yeah, we know it. We’ve seen it.'”

2:34 Related Summer’s Biggest Blockbuster Registers Unexpected Reviews & Rotten Tomatoes Score Deadpool & Wolverine fans might be surprised or even bitter by the film’s unexpected Rotten Tomatoes score.

It was likely much easier for Reynolds to convince Blake Lively to become Lady Deadpool for the film, since they’re married. But, as it turns out, Reynolds’ real-life relationships truly helped fill out Deadpool & Wolverine’s cameo dance card with the likes of Blade (Wesley Snipes), Elektra (Jennifer Garner) and Gambit (Channing Tatum). And who can forget Matthew McConaughey’s Cowboy Deadpool?

Deadpool & Wolverine
is now playing exclusively in theaters.