You gotta admit Marvel has some good ones, says Chris Evans

“Comic book movies in general, for whatever reason, don’t always get the credit I think they deserve,” Marvel’s Captain America, Chris Evans, argued during an appearance at Emerald City Comic Con 2024 (via Variety). Of course, if “credit” is “money,” or “credit” is “rabidly loyal fans,” or “credit” is “the backing of most major studios,” then comic book movies have gotten plenty of credit. But if “credit” is “Martin Scorsese finally tells me I did a good job,” then indeed, the credit is never coming.

Nevertheless, here’s the rest of Evans’ argument. “They are these big, giant movies. There’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen. But the empirical evidence is in: They are not easy to make. If it was easier, there would be a lot more good ones,” he said. “I’m not throwing shade! I’ve been a part of a few that missed. It happens. Making a movie is tough. More cooks in the kitchen doesn’t make it easier. I don’t want to highlight specific films in the Marvel catalog but some of them are phenomenal. Like independently, objectively great movies, and I think they deserve a little more credit.”

For Evans personally, his “favorite Marvel movie” that he was a part of is Captain America: Winter Soldier, which, by the way, sits at a very comfortable 90% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so from whom is he seeking further credit? (Seriously, is it just Martin Scorsese and a handful of other auteur directors?) Regardless, Winter Soldier is an undeniably superior Marvel product, but “It’s not just for the movie itself but the experience,” he explained of why it’s his fave. “The first film, I was so nervous. You know what you’re stepping into and as a result you’re playing defense and you’re playing not to lose. When Winter Solider came around, we were playing to win. And it’s the first movie with the Russo Brothers. We were taking more risks, and the character felt more fleshed out. It was one of the more satisfying experiences I’ve had in my Marvel run.”

Though he continues to defend the genre, Evans has thus far resisted the pull to return to the superhero realm. Instead, he professed on the convention stage that he’d like to try out another genre entirely: “I’m a big fan of fantasy films. I love Lord Of The Rings. I love The Neverending Story. I don’t know if I fit into them. I don’t know if I’m even considered for them,” he said (via Popverse). “Honestly, they’re my favorite type of films, but they’re also big giant movies that are also tough to do well, so a lot of different ingredients have to come together correctly.”

Evans promised that he’d wear pointy ears or shoot a bow if the role called for it, but the bottom line is he’d like to do something different and expansive, whether there’s actual magic involved or not. “Shogun isn’t exactly fantasy, but anything that has a beautiful aesthetic,” he added. “Anything that has that kind of beautiful aesthetic, that kind of world-building.”