14 DAY TRIAL // With “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” about to drop in theaters in a little over a week, Chris Evans is probably breathing a deep sigh of relief at the thought that, soon enough, the media madness will be over, because he’s been having a very rough time with it.
After a series of very bad interviews in which he totally complained about how difficult it was for him to be a cog in the Marvel machine because of his 6-movie deal to play Captain America, and the rumor that the studio would have Sebastian Stan replace him as the Captain, Evans has gone into damage control mode.
He graces the cover and the pages of the latest issue of Variety magazine and, for what it’s worth, he offers a very solid explanation for why he’s so eager to be done playing the Cap: he wants to go into directing, and being on Marvel’s payroll leaves him no time for that.
Unlike in previous interviews, this time, Evans actually handles himself well, without coming across as whinny or ungrateful or condescending in any way. He honestly says that working for Marvel is too stressful for a guy like him and that, while eternally grateful for the chance offered, he’s looking forward to move on.
So, to be able to get into directing, Evans is retiring from acting and, until 2017, when his Marvel contract is up, he will only do Marvel movies.
“I’ve known for a while I wanted to direct. But (time) never really opens up. There’s another movie to do, there’s another acting job. It just got to a point where I was like, you know what — I have to do this. If I’m acting at all, it’s going to be under Marvel contract, or I’m going to be directing. I can’t see myself pursuing acting strictly outside of what I’m contractually obligated to do,” he explains.
Chris doesn’t rule out completely the possibility that, in five years’ time, he won’t change his mind about acting and decide he misses it badly enough to make a “comeback.” Still, he says, he won’t do that until he tries his hand at directing.
Extending his fingers, he counts the movies he still has to shoot under his Marvel contract: now that “The Winter Soldier” can be crossed off the list, he has to shoot “Avengers 2,” aka “Age of Ultron,” this August, and then another movie, presumably to allow Marvel to replace him as Captain.
“I bet by 2017, I’ll be done. [Grunts.] That sounds so far away,” he says.
And now we know why Sebastian Stan, who plays Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier, has a 9-picture contract with the studio. Barnes is Captain in the comics for a while, so now it’s clear that Marvel knows where to take the film franchise after Evans’ exit. Sad news for Chris Evans fans, this is.