A major Marvel star returns in 'Deadpool & Wolverine' in an unexpected way, and it might be one of the MCU's most satisfying cameos ever

• Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman star as the titular characters of "Deadpool & Wolverine."
• The movie includes a big, surprising cameo from a popular Marvel actor.
• The cameo is hilarious and unexpected.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "Deadpool & Wolverine."

"Deadpool & Wolverine" has several noteworthy celebrity cameos, but the film's greatest gift is Chris Evans' return.

The third "Deadpool" film, directed by Shawn Levy, pairs up Ryan Reynolds' Wade Wilson/Deadpool and Hugh Jackman's Logan/Wolverine for a mission to save Deadpool's universe from extinction.

Their plan hits a snag early on and the titular characters are sent to a wasteland called The Void. It's here that some of the film's cameos emerge, including Evans.

Here's everything to know about his unexpected return, and why it's so much more than a cash grab.

Chris Evans returns as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, not Steve Rogers/Captain America

When Deadpool and Wolverine encounter Evans' character, he's shrouded in dark blue, rag-like clothing that covers most of his body and doesn't show his face.

He unveils his true identity to the audience when antagonists who work for the villainous Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) arrive in "Mad Max"-style vehicles and try to capture them.

"I got this," he confidently tells Deadpool and Wolverine, adding, "Stay close."

Removing his hood, audiences finally see that the mystery character is played by Evans — but he's not reprising his role as Cap, as Deadpool and the audience initially assume. Instead, he's playing Johnny Storm/Human Torch and wearing a Fantastic Four uniform.

Then, he says his signature Human Torch line, "Flame on," before powering up and fighting Pyro (Aaron Stanford).

Despite their best efforts, Johnny, Deadpool, and Wolverine are captured. While in the convoy, Johnny explains that The Void is a metaphysical junkyard where people go before getting annihilated by an entity known as Alioth. In The Void, you're either food for Alioth or you work for Cassandra, he adds.

The scene then cuts to their arrival at Cassandra's lair. Cassandra, who's Charles Xavier's twin, has apparently been trying to catch Johnny for years.

Deadpool, being overly talkative, tells Cassandra that Johnny said some unflattering things about her in the convoy. Johnny denies it, but Cassandra uses her telepathic powers to rip Johnny's skin off his bones, leaving his organs and a pool of blood on the ground.

That's not the end of Evans' screen time, though. He returns in the film's end-credits scene.

In the scene, Wade, standing inside the TVA, breaks the fourth wall to tell the audience that he's tired of the rumors that he got Johnny killed. To prove that he was being honest and accurate about everything Johnny said about Cassandra, Deadpool replays surveillance footage from the convoy.

The footage picks up exactly after Johnny tells Deadpool and Wolverine that people in the Void are destroyed by Alioth or work for her, referring to Cassandra.

"And I'll tell you who her is. Cassandra Nova, a megalomaniacal psychotic asshole," Johnny says. He adds that even if the last thing he does is set Cassandra on fire, he still won't die happy.

"Holy shit girl, you crazy," Deadpool replies.

"That's right," Johnny says.

"I won't be happy until I've urinated on her freshly barbequed corpse," he continues, hilariously tossing in even more threats against Cassandra as Wade snickers, knowing that the convoy contains a surveillance camera.

"And you can quote me," Johnny concludes.

"Gotcha, fuckface," Deadpool says after playing the footage.

Evans reprising his role as Johnny Storm is a genius way to subvert expectations

Unless you've seen leaks or read semi-accurate spoilers on Reddit, you'll probably be caught off guard by Evans' return to the MCU. Some major publications reported the returns of actors like Jennifer Garner as Elektra well in advance, but Evans' involvement managed to stay under wraps pre-release.

His appearance in "Deadpool & Wolverine" is incredibly satisfying for fans who saw him evolve from playing the ladies' man of the Fantastic Four in the early 2000s to the career-defining moral compass of the Avengers.

The 2019 film "Avengers: Endgame" seemingly ended Evans' run as Cap and he passed on the shield to Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). The movie didn't show Cap's death or indicate that he died, but his whereabouts since then are unknown.

Then in 2021, Deadline reported that Evans signed on to reprise his role as Cap "in at least one Marvel property, with the door open for a second film." That remains to be seen, but fans have theorized that he could return in the upcoming ensemble movie "Avengers: Secret Wars."

Evans, for his part, said in various interviews that he's protective of the character and wouldn't want to don the superhero again just for a paycheck.

"I wouldn't want the black eye if it felt like a cash grab or if it didn't live up to expectations or if it just felt like it wasn't connected to that original thing," he told GQ in 2023.

But two years ago, Evans told MTV News that it would take less convincing to get him to return as the lovable Johnny Storm.

"I would love it," he said. "That would actually be an easier sell to me than coming back as Cap. You know what I mean? Cap is so precious to me. And I almost don't wanna disrupt what a beautiful experience that was. But Johnny Storm, I feel like he didn't really get his day. That was before Marvel really found its footing. So, I loved that role, and who knows?"

It probably cost Marvel a pretty penny to bring back Evans for his "Deadpool & Wolverine" cameo. Deadpool even makes a meta-joke about Evans' cameo impacting the budget.

The film maximizes his involvement by including an extended cut of his R-rated rant about Cassandra Nova. The added scene is another reminder that Evans, who has done more serious roles in recent years, can still inhabit the hot-headed, cocky Marvel character that he played in his 20s.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Evans said that he's good friends with Reynolds and the "Deadpool" actor texted him to see if he'd be interested in playing Johnny again.

"I said, 'Oh my God! Of course,'" Evans recalled.

"Honestly, Ryan might be the only guy that I would've done it for because he's just got the Midas touch," he added. "His self-awareness makes him almost invincible."

For better or for worse, "Deadpool & Wolverine" contains many cameos that are being called fan service. But the film was already tracking to become the biggest R-rated opening of all time, with $160 to $170 million, without fans being aware of Evans' cameo.

Evans' return as Johnny is a fitting way to give the character a second act through a cameo that satiates fans without itself too seriously.