Anthony Mackie Says Chris Evans Gave Him the ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Script Early, Revealing How He’d Become Captain America: ‘It Was Really Great and Really Emotional’

Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie’s bond goes beyond their shared roles as Captain America. They’re also close friends, so much so that Evans gave Mackie early access to the “Avengers: Endgame” script, which is when the actor learned how he’d become the superhero.

“Chris Evans is somebody who I hold near and dear,” Mackie said in a recent interview with Cigar Aficionado. “We’re at Chris’ house, and because he’s Captain America, he gets the [script] pages first. So he’s like, ‘Yo, did you read the new scene?’ I’m like, ‘Nah, what’s up?’ So, he takes me down…and he gave me the script and let me read it. And it was really great and really emotional to learn it from a friend…I don’t know a lot of actors who would have appreciated or celebrated that moment with a fellow actor in that way because I was taking his job for all intents and purposes.”

Evans first suited up as Captain America in 2011 in “Captain America: The First Avenger.” Mackie took over as the titular hero after receiving the iconic shield from Evans’ Captain America at the end of “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019. He led his first feature film as the superhero in 2025’s “Captain America: Brave New World.”

The Disney and Marvel 2019 blockbuster returned to theaters on Friday with extra footage as a special theatrical re-release leading up to “Avengers: Doomsday,” which comes out on Dec. 18. The re-release, titled “Avengers: Endgame Encore,” generated $26 million domestically over the weekend and $60 million overseas for a global tally of $86 million.

The film was already the second-highest-grossing movie in box office history with $2.79 billion. After this weekend, the movie has grossed $2.88 billion.