After a decade of dominance climaxed in Avengers: Endgame shattering records along its way to cultural and box office royalty, it isn’t entirely unfair to say that Marvel has had a bit of a rollercoaster time setting the stage for its next era. But even as critical and financial consensus wanes on the studios’ output, the former ass of America thinks we should still be thanking them.
“Comic book movies in general, for whatever reason, don’t always get the credit I think they deserve,” Evans recently told fans at a panel during Emerald City Comic Con (via Total Film). “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. I’m not throwing shade! I’ve been a part of a few that missed. It happens.”
Marvel has had a few more of those misses than hits recently, not just at the movie theater but in its rapid expansion into streaming TV, to meet the demands of its parent company Disney in the wake of it launching its own streaming platform in 2019. But as glib as you can be about not crediting Marvel enough in spite of its many, many years of massive successes, Evans at least understands something the studio itself has come to learn as it realigns its theatrical and televisual aims: the executive control Marvel exuded over its stratospheric rise doesn’t always work for making good movies.
“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 catalogue but some of them are phenomenal,” the actor concluded. “Like independently, objectively great movies, and I think they deserve a little more credit.”
Evans wouldn’t let slip the movies he thought missed in his own superheroic back catalogue, but he picked an easy favorite: his work on Captain America: The Winter Soldier. “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 Soldier 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.”
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
