Chris Evans' career post-the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues with Lucas Lee in 2010's Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. His professional image made his casting as Steve Rogers/Captain America something of a surprise, but one that doubtlessly paid off and changed his career.

Evans swiftly became one of the biggest stars in the world, and, since 2011, has been the face of Captain America's sometimes infuriating nobility. Evans went on to star in some of the best MCU films, such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Infinity War. This role dominated his life for a decade, and like several MCU stars, left people curious about what he would do after this high. Now, the recent release of the trailer for Honey Don't! confirms that Evans is continuing to work within a niche he has carved out for himself in the 2020s.

Chris Evans Is Set To Play The Villain In Honey Don't!

Evans Will Play A Manipulative Clergyman

Honey Don't! is a crime comedy coming to theaters on Aug. 22, 2025, following a private investigator looking into the death of a young woman and how it is tied to a cult-like religious organization. The trailer heavily implies that Chris Evans' character, Reverend Drew, is the main antagonist of this story. Margaret Qualley's Honey O'Donahue sees Drew's manipulation and exploitation of his followers and apparently suspects him of having played some role in their deaths. Meanwhile, Evans' performance frames Drew as exceedingly arrogant and entitled, stressing that he is someone helping people when he is only serving himself.

Chris Evans' Biggest Roles Post-MCU Have Been Very Twisted Villains

It All Started With His Wild Performance In Knives Out

Since the end of the Infinity Saga, several of Evans' most highly-publicized roles have been villainous, and bear similar character traits within the broad narrative placement of being the villain. They all exhibit a despicable sense of entitlement, and commit disturbing crimes, but still have a twisted charisma. This trend in his career kicked off when he played Ransom Drysdale in Knives Out, leading to Lloyd Hanson in The Gray Man, Pete Brenner in Pain Hustlers, and now Reverend Drew in Honey Don't. There are some exceptions, such as him playing a romantic lead in the movie Materialists.

Evans has also taken on a couple of roles that revolve around the punchline of him being Chris Evans, such as his return to playing Johnny Storm in Deadpool & Wolverine and playing himself in Free Guy. However, the fictional persona he is most connected to is shifting again, with these wild, aggressive, and playfully maniacal villains. As we once might not have thought of him as the perfect Cap, we maybe wouldn't have thought of him as such a villain either — but he nails the role every time.

Filmmakers Know What They Are Doing By Casting Chris Evans As The Villain

We Are Always Shocked To See Captain America Being So Vile

Furthermore, the underlying contrast between what we've come to expect from Evans as an actor and the character he is presently playing is the whole point and elevates his performances, which are great in their own right, to something mind-boggling. By casting golden boy Captain America in the role of a villain who commits truly heinous crimes, filmmakers are leveraging the public perception of Evans and perverting it for an even more disturbing effect. For his part, Evans seems to be enjoying the change of pace, which is how he can fully embrace these characters and play them so well.

The MCU itself is arguably also playing this card of twisting the faces of its own heroes.

The mere fact of Evans portraying a spoiled sweater-wearing murderer in Knives Out was funny, which drove an already excellent movie forward. The MCU itself is arguably also playing this card of twisting the faces of its own heroes, with Robert Downey Jr. being cast as Dr. Doom and Evans possibly returning in Avengers: Doomsday as Captain Hydra. It makes the next phase of the MCU all the more intriguing, as it plays with this metatextuality, but first, we will get another great performance from Evans that proves his versatility in Honey Don't!