What Chris Evans Is Happy To Have Lost Since Leaving The MCU

Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may have been sad to see Chris Evans — otherwise known as Captain America — leave the franchise, but the actor himself says there's at least one thing he's happy to have lost since his MCU departure after "Avengers: Endgame" back in 2019.

In the decade-plus since Evans starred in his first Marvel film, "Captain America: The First Avenger," the MCU has grown into a cultural juggernaut that dominates movies, network television, and streamers alike, with an ever-growing cast of characters and intersecting plot-lines. But being Captain America required more than just the ability to keep everybody's story straight. It also required Evans to look like Captain America. That is, he had to be ridiculously buff at all times. Apparently bulging pecs and double-digit abs are required for all superheroes. Now that Evans is only voicing a new superhero — Buzz Lightyear in the animated movie "Lightyear" — he gets to let go of some things. 

Specifically, Chris Evans was finally able to lose some of all that muscle, which he called "a literal weight off" his shoulders to Yahoo Entertainment (via Twitter). "I've shed, like, 15 pounds," he said. "Every time people see me, they say, 'You okay? You lost a bit of weight.' Yeah, I haven't had to hit the gym as hard." 

Evans has spoken up about the difficulty of maintaining such an unrealistically ripped physique before. In 2015, per Irish Mirror, he said, "One of the things I've always said to the higher-ups at Marvel, is they have to sympathize with the fact that we're all trying to put on as much muscle as we possibly can, but these suits are so counterproductive." 

He's not the only one who's had problems with bulking up for the franchise. Will Poulter recently told The Independent, "I wouldn't recommend anyone do what I did to get ready for that job," referring to his regimen in preparing for "Guardians of the Galaxy." Kumail Nanjiani said on Instagram that getting his body in "Eternals" shape was months of "physical pain."