Chris Evans Says Johnny Storm Return After 17 Years in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Was a ‘Dream Come True’: ‘He’ll Always Have a Special Place in My Heart’

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which is now playing in theaters.

Chris Evans took to his Instagram story to thank Ryan Reynolds for allowing him to play Johnny Storm/Human Torch again after a 17-year hiatus in Marvel’s “Deadpool & Wolverine.” The film, which debuted to a record-breaking $211 million at the domestic box office and is sure to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide in August, included Evans has one of its biggest surprise cameos.

“Thank you to Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman and Shawn Levy for letting me be a part of such an incredible movie!” Evans wrote next to a photo of the four gentlemen on the “Deadpool & Wolverine” set. “They’re three of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Special thank you to Ryan for making it all happen. Playing Johnny again was a dream come true and he’ll always have a special place in my heart.”

Evans is famous for playing Steve Rogers/Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and exited the role after 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame.” When he pops up in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” many viewers (and Reynolds’ Deadpool himself) likely assume he’s playing a variant of Captain America. It’s soon revealed that Evans is actually back as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, the superhero character he played in 2005’s “Fantastic Four” and 2007’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.”

Evans’ Johnny Storm is one of several characters from the 20th Century Fox era of Marvel movies to reappear in “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Jennifer Garner’s Elektra and Wesley Snipes’ Blade also pop up in the movie. Channing Tatum also stars in the film as Gambit, a superhero he tried to bring to the big screen for years under Fox but never got the project off the ground. All four actors surprised fans at Comic-Con after a screening of “Deadpool & Wolverine.”

Tatum recently thanked Reynolds in his own social media post for finally giving him the chance to debut as Gambit.

“I thought I had lost Gambit forever,” Tatum wrote, noting that Reynolds “fought for me and Gambit and “I will owe him probably forever. Cause I’m not sure how I could ever do something that would be equal to what this has meant to me. I love ya buddy.”

“Deadpool & Wolverine” is now playing in theaters nationwide from Disney.