For many fans of superhero pop culture, Chris Evans' Captain America has been the epitome of good old fashioned comic book heroism, thanks in part to his boyish good looks and a career of playing mostly trustworthy characters. On the flip side of that spectrum is The Boys' Antony Starr as the endlessly disturbing and morally repugnant Homelander, a publicly beloved supe whose actions behind the scenes would make Steve Rogers' eyes twitch. Now just think, what if those actors swapped roles for a while?
Well in particular in this case, what if we were in a different timeline where Avengers star Chris Evans had somehow landed the role of The Boys' Homelander? For a quick idea of what that would look like, a particularly talented Redditor crafted a quick-but-convincing deepfake video setting Evans up as The Seven's devious and milk-loving "hero" that had fans torn between loving the new look and absolutely abhorring it. Let's check out the initial video below.
from r/
Boy, that's a freaky one, isn't it? By and large, Chris Evans looks like a purely natural fit within the role of Homelander, even if the vibe is completely different with a former Captain America inside that costume. A lot of fans talking about the video on Reddit and social media shared the opinion that Homelander would almost need to be a different character in order to have Evans portraying him.
Despite his more arrogance-heavy roles in projects such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Knives Out, Chris Evans is a hard sell when it comes to the kind of villainy that Homelander has been shown to wade through with frequency. In talking about this detail, one fan also points out that it's already just as hard to believe Antony Starr is a "good guy" within The Boys' universe, given his piercing eyeballs.
The thing about [Antony] is that he has strong features so he looks straight up evil 100% of the time, it’s hard to believe him as a good guy. On the other hand, Chris is too baby faced for Homelander, however he has some tenderness in his eyes that if you combine it with this character then theres something unnerving about it.
For other fans, Chris Evans would have been a perfect Homelander in a world where The Boys was a completely different kind of show that traded its bonkers, over-the-top storytelling for something more low-key and realistic.
Chris Evans would be an amazing Homelander if the show was more grounded in reality. I could see him being way more subtle with the underlying maliciousness. But in the super elevated, campy world of The Boys-- Antony takes the freakin' cake. Honestly, I could see him even doing well playing it down a bit.
For all the kind-hearted and agreeable fans, though, there were just as many if not more who were not nearly as plussed about the idea of the Avengers star stepping into Homelander's red, white and blue costume.
The only thing this video does (as well made as it is) is shows the casting of @antonystarr is absolutely perfect no one can do Homelander looks quite like him.
It's not even that people are necessarily against Chris Evans as an actor in general, but there's something about swapping him and Antony Starr that gets under some people's skin. (Though thankfully in a less violent and less literal way than how Homelander does it.) Take this person's opinion, for instance:
I love Chris Evans, I believe he has one of the greatest CBMs ever (shared uni or not), and no it's not that crappy Endgame. But MCU, get your filthy paws out of our beloved The Boys.
It's impossible to imagine a reality where The Seven exist in the same world as the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy; though Deadpool would probably be right at home.
Some fans didn't even feel the need to get that eloquent about their thoughts and opted for brevity.
For those wondering, yes, there is at least one person out there who is 100% down with Chris Evans popping into the role of Homelander, and there are no doubt many others sharing this same opinion:
People are saying they cant see anyone else as Homelander and geezus fuck man, THIS makes me feel a certain way cause damn I'd LOVE to see Chris as Homelander
Perhaps in Season 3, showrunner Eric Kripke can find a way to bring Chris Evans into the fold to play Homelander for a TV movie version of The Seven's rise and potential downfall. Fans will already be seeing another baby-faced actor joining the fray for Season 3, with Supernatural's Jensen Ackles taking on the comic book role of Soldier Boy.
