Chris Evans is reportedly due to appear in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’.
The 43-year-old actor played Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) from 2011’s ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ until ‘Avengers: Endgame’ in 2019, though TheWrap has now claimed Evans will be making a surprise appearance in the studio’s next crossover blockbuster in 2026.
While the outlet reported the ‘Red One’ star would be returning to the MCU “in some capacity” for ‘Doomsday’, it was not confirmed which role Evans would be playing after the actor also recently appeared as Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, in ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’.
If this turns out to be true, Evans will be reuniting with his former ‘Avengers’ co-star Robert Downey Jr., 59, who will be playing the antagonist Doctor Doom in ‘Doomsday’.
The ‘Oppenheimer’ star - who had fronted the MCU from its inception with 2008’s ‘Iron Man’ until ‘Endgame’ 11 years later - was revealed to be returning to the franchise as its next big villain at this year’s San Diego Comic Con in July, where it was also announced directors Joe and Anthony Russo would be back behind the camera for ‘Doomsday’.
After being unveiled as the series’ next big bad, Downey Jr. explained how Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige pitched the role of Doctor Doom to him and his wife Susan Downey.
During an appearance on ‘The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter’ podcast, he recalled: “Susan and I were sitting down with Feige at one point, and he said, 'It just keeps occurring to me that, if you were to come back…’ And Susan was like, ‘Wait, wait, come back as what?’
“And then we both realized, over time, that it was another thing that just disproves any doubt anyone could ever have about that guy.
“[Feige is] a very sophisticated, creative thinker about, ‘How can we not go backwards? How can we not disappoint expectations? How can we continue to beat expectations?’
“And he brought up Victor von Doom, and I looked into [the] character, and I was like, ‘Wow.’ And later on, he goes, ‘Let's get Victor von Doom right. Let's get that right.’”
After the ‘Sherlock Holmes’ star concluded he wanted to play the villain, Downey Jr. and Feige went to Disney CEO Bob Iger’s house to pitch the idea, and found that the executive was a big fan of the plans.
Downey Jr. continued: “So then I said to Kevin, ‘Can I go talk to Bob Iger?’ He goes, ‘About?’ I go, ‘About everything.’
“We go to Iger’s pad, and we sit down and start saying, ‘I just really want to be…’ He goes, ‘I like it.’ I was like, ‘He likes it.’”
As well as Downey Jr. and potentially Evans, it was also recently reported Anthony Mackie would appear in ‘Doomsday’ as Captain America after his first solo outing as the new Star Spangled Man in 2025’s ‘Captain America: Brave New World’.
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Micah Parsons claims he was willing to return to the negotiating table with the Dallas Cowboys before he was traded to the Green Bay Packers in a deal that sent shockwaves across the NFL, but the team declined. Parsons was traded to the Packers on Thursday in exchange for two first-round draft picks and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark. The deal came less than a month after Parsons publicly requested a trade, but the star pass-rusher says he was open to remaining in Dallas right up until he was moved. Parsons told Jane Slater of NFL Network on Thursday evening that he went back to the Cowboys in an attempt to discuss a new contract after the trade chatter began heating up this week. The 26-year-old says Jerry Jones and company told him he can either play under the fifth-year option on his rookie contract (which would have paid Parsons just over $24M) or be shown the door. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media confirmed that the Cowboys "had a chance to stop the deal." Jones insists that he and Parsons had a handshake agreement for a new long-term extension earlier in the offseason. The Cowboys owner said he and Parsons worked out all of the details, including length, average annual salary and guaranteed money. Jones claims he presented the terms to Parsons' agent David Mulugheta, and Mulugheta had a vulgar response. Mulugheta insists that is not the truth. The relationship between Parsons and the Cowboys deteriorated rapidly in recent weeks, but it sounds like Parsons was still willing to work to find middle ground. It would not be a surprise if Jones tells a much different story.
The Green Bay Packers are happy, as they should be, after acquiring Micah Parsons in a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Cowboys. But part of that compensation was Kenny Clark, who has a specific skill set that the Packers will lack in the interior of the defensive line room. After all, players like Devonte Wyatt and Karl Brooks have been impactful interior rushers, but they struggle against the run. Right now, Colby Wooden and undrafted rookie Nazir Stackhouse are probably the best run-stuffers on the DT depth chart. Now, the Packers will not have many resources to add more pieces, but it's still possible to look for smart solutions to add to what looks like a roster ready to win now. Veteran Christian Wilkins and rookie Cam Horsley are the best options, and we will discuss why they could make sense below. Internal options The Packers have invested significant draft resources along the interior of the defensive line. Wyatt was a first-round pick in 2022, and Green Bay picked up his fifth-year option for 2026. Colby Wooden was a fourth-rounder, Karl Brooks and Warren Brinson were sixth-rounders. Ideally, some of them could develop and play better with new defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington. Undrafted last year, James Ester is on the practice squad, but he's probably not a realistic option. A real possibility is that the Packers could use Lukas Van Ness more as an interior player on passing downs. However, it probably won't apply for early downs. External alternatives There aren't many solid defensive tackles left in free agency. The best option is certainly Christian Wilkins, a former Miami Dolphins star. He signed a huge $110 million contract with the Las Vegas Raiders just last offseason, but was released and had his guarantees voided due to an injury and issues with the team's medical staff. It's a Jones fracture, so it's unclear at this point when Wilkins will be available to return. But when healthy, the veteran is a dominant player. Last season, he had 11 stops and an 80.2 PFF run defense grade. Other than that, Raekwon Davis and Maurice Hurst could be depth options, but wouldn't be clear upgrades (if at all) over what the roster has now. The best practical solutions could come by signing players from other teams' practice squads, and this is something general manager Brian Gutekunst has done a lot. The most interesting alternatives include Washington Commanders' Sheldon Day, Atlanta Falcons' Kentavius Street, and former Packer Chicago Bears' Jonathan Ford. The most intriguing option The Packers will simply not be able to replicate Clark's prime production right now—well, probably not even with Clark himself, since he showed some signs of regression last year. But there's an intriguing prospect that would make tons of sense for Green Bay. It's undrafted rookie Cam Horsley, who is on the Tennessee Titans' practice squad. A former Boston College player, he has familiarity with Jeff Hafley. Despite being undrafted, The Athletic's Dane Brugler graded him as a fifth-round prospect, highlighting he "is a stout run defender, using his heavy, upward strikes and immediate lockout to own the line of scrimmage or create vertical push." Green Bay probably prefers Stackhouse, and that's fine. But after moving on from Kenny Clark, it wouldn't hurt to add more options to the menu.
There had to be at least some expectation that the Boise State Broncos were going to take a small step backwards in 2025. They probably just did not expect it to happen so soon in the season, and so emphatically. The No. 25 ranked Broncos were absolutely humiliated on Thursday night, losing 34-7 to an unranked South Florida team that was just 7-6 a year ago. It was a rude awakening for what might be ahead for Boise State following the departure of Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty's historic season helped carry the Broncos to an 12-1 regular season, with the only regular season loss being a three-point defeat to Oregon early in the season. They ended up in the College Football Playoff where they lost their first game to Penn State. But with Jeanty on to the NFL (a first-round pick by the Las Vegas Raiders) there was always going to be a huge hole for them to replace. Not only in terms of production and skill, but also in their identity. They had none of that power-running identity on Thursday. Not only did they allow 34 consecutive points to South Florida, but the Broncos also managed to rush for only 122 yards on 38 carries, coming out to just 3.2 yards per attempt. They averaged 6.1 yards per carry in 2024, tied for the second-highest mark in college football. On one hand, losing an early season game isn't the end of the world, especially in the era of expanded playoffs. Boise State could still run the table the rest of the way with a very manageable schedule and play its way back into playoff contention. It's also not uncommon for teams to struggle early in the season. There is no preseason in college football and everybody is just coming in cold right into real games. Sometimes teams take a while to get moving. But this is not a particularly good South Florida team, and for Boise State to come out so flat and be so uncompetitive in the opener is a bad sign for what might be ahead.
Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell was ejected early in his team's game against the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, and home plate umpire David Rackley didn't put up with much before giving him the hook. Chicago had outfielder Ian Happ at the plate with a runner on first and one out in the top of the third inning at Oracle Park in San Francisco. Right fielder Kyle Tucker attempted to steal second on a 3-2 pitch in a tie game, but he was thrown out at second. The pitch was also called a strike, which ended the inning. Counsell felt that the ball had missed outside and came out of the dugout to state his case to Rackley, who was in no mood to hear it. Counsell was quickly dismissed from the game. The Cubs lost their first two games of the series against San Francisco and scored a combined five runs in those contests, so Counsell may have been trying to light a fire under his team. Though he seemed a bit surprised when Rackley ejected him. Chicago entered Thursday with a record of 76-57. Counsell's team was 6.5 games behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central but atop the NL wild-card standings.
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