‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Star Chris Evans Says Playing Johnny Storm Again Was “A Piece Of Cake”

Marvel nostalgia has never hit quite as hard as it did in 2024, when ‘Deadpool & Wolverine‘ turned into a parade of long-lost Fox-era heroes stepping back into the spotlight. Fans spent months theorizing about which forgotten faces might resurface in the multiverse-hopping blockbuster, and the guessing game only added to the film’s massive cultural moment.

Among the surprises tucked into that cameo-heavy adventure was Chris Evans, the actor most associated with Captain America, slipping into a very different suit. Long before he ever picked up Cap’s shield, Evans spent two films in the mid-2000s playing Johnny Storm, the hot-headed Human Torch from Fox’s ‘Fantastic Four’ movies, and that history is exactly what made his brief return so unexpected.

Now, more than a year after the film’s release, Evans is opening up about just how easy it was to step back into Johnny’s shoes. Speaking at Fan Expo Boston, the actor admitted that reprising the character required almost no effort on his part, joking that the role never really left him in the first place.

“Slipping into the role was a piece of cake,” Evans said, before adding, “I don’t know what that says about me, that that character is so readily available to me at all times, but I loved that role. It was actually kind of a dream.”

It’s a candid, slightly self-deprecating admission from an actor who’s spent nearly two decades bouncing between very different corners of the superhero genre. Johnny Storm was brash, impulsive and a little bit reckless, a sharp contrast to the disciplined, duty-bound Steve Rogers that made Evans a household name years later.

That contrast is part of what seems to have made the ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ cameo so fun for him. Evans has previously described going back to the “verbose” Human Torch as a chance to “let loose a little bit” after years of playing a more restrained hero, and his comments at Fan Expo Boston reinforce that same sense of nostalgic ease. For an actor who once said he was reluctant to take on another superhero role at all, the fact that Johnny came back so naturally speaks to how much the character still means to him.

The cameo itself came together quickly and quietly. Evans has said in past interviews that he flew in for only a brief stretch of filming, keeping the appearance under wraps until the movie’s theatrical release caught audiences off guard. That element of surprise became one of the most talked-about moments of the film’s marketing cycle, with fans and critics alike zeroing in on the Fox legacy characters as a highlight of the whole project.

Reaction to Evans’ comments has been largely warm, with fans online embracing the idea that Johnny Storm remains an effortless, beloved part of his career rather than a distant footnote. It’s a notable contrast to the character’s fate elsewhere in the franchise. Joseph Quinn has since stepped into the role for the MCU’s ‘Fantastic Four: The First Steps,’ offering audiences a different, more grounded take on the same hero.

Whether or not Evans ever puts on the flame-suit again remains unclear, but his Fan Expo Boston remarks suggest the door is far from closed emotionally, even if there’s no official plan in place. For now, Johnny Storm stands as a reminder of just how far Evans has come since his early superhero days, and how comfortably he can still slide back into them.

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