It’s hard to believe we’re approaching two decades of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and 15 years ago today, a new addition to the franchise changed it forever. It introduced one of the most important Avengers — arguably, the most important Avenger, though Iron Man fans may have something to say about that — and saw him saving the world for the first time. It also laid the groundwork for the MCU’s first larger team-up, which altered the course of the franchise going forward. Without the 2011 film and the team effort that followed, it’s hard to say what the MCU would look like today.
And this 15-year anniversary hits even harder as we approach the release of Avengers: Doomsday in December. The latest Avengers movie will bring some of the biggest faces in the MCU back to the screen, whether they’re returning as seasoned heroes, or, in Robert Downey Jr.’s case, as the film’s primary villain. It’s a fitting way to celebrate the anniversary of a project that paved the way for this event film and one of its biggest appearances.
Captain America: The First Avenger released on July 22, 2011, making today the 15th anniversary of Chris Evans’ debut as Captain America. Evans’ hero may have made his first appearance after Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk (Edward Norton’s version, anyway), but he was clearly worth the wait. He rapidly became the center of the MCU, emerging as the obvious leader of the Avengers team and the moral compass of the entire franchise.
He felt destined for that trajectory after Captain America: The First Avenger, which saw him saving the world from Hydra and Red Skull — quite the feat for his first outing in the suit. Of course, triumphing over the film’s villains forced him to sacrifice his own future, leaving him frozen for decades. That twist, along with the movie’s Tesseract plot, laid the groundwork for The Avengers. Needless to say, it also resulted in the MCU as we now know it.
Captain America: The First Avenger laid the foundations for the rest of the MCU, as it’s the film that fully set the events of The Avengers in motion. The prior four movies were steadily building toward the collision between the original Avengers and Loki, and Nick Fury had started building his team already. However, Steve Rogers was the final piece of that, with Captain America: The First Avenger‘s ending and post-credits scene subtly introducing the mission that would drive The Avengers. (There was also an Avengers teaser trailer confirming its arrival.) Without all the layers the 2011 film adds to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Tesseract story, The Avengers might not have worked so well. And the team-up gave way to its heroes continuing to appear throughout the Infinity Saga. In that sense, Captain America: The First Avenger is one of the biggest points to trace everything back to.
Captain America: The First Avenger‘s anniversary is worth celebrating for its impact on the MCU, but it’s especially exciting in the lead-up to Steve Rogers’ return in Avengers: Doomsday. It was revealed that Evans would be reprising his role back in December, when a teaser trailer showing Steve Rogers as a dad made its debut. We got another look at Evans’ character reuniting with Chris Hemsworth’s Thor in the official full-length trailer for the film. Fans have thoughts about whether it’s really the Steve we know and love here, but either way, the prospect of seeing Evans, Downey Jr., and Hemsworth on-screen together again is building anticipation for the 2026 film.
And it’s fitting that Evans’ return to the MCU comes on the same year Captain America: The First Avenger is celebrating such a big milestone. Fifteen years later, he’s still stealing every scene he’s in, underscoring just how important he was and still is to the franchise. The MCU wouldn’t be the same without Cap, and we have a lot to thank his origin story for.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026.
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