What Each Avengers Actor Has Done Since Endgame

In the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, most of the original six Avengers stars have moved on from Marvel, while a few of them are slated to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the near future. For the past decade, Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), and Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) have become recognized worldwide due to their contributions to the MCU. But now that their main story is over, what comes next for them?

Avengers: Endgame made box office history by becoming the highest grossing film of all-time, with a worldwide take of $2.798 billion, just out-grossing the record held by Avatar since 2009. The film was the grand finale of the first three phases of the MCU, acting as a concluding chapter for most of the core Avengers, while setting up the future for others. Of course, leaving behind such lucrative movies may not have been easy, as not every actor has seen enormous success outside of the MCU.

But still, from producing their own projects to political activism and rock albums, the original core group of Avengers have expanded their portfolios in unique and diverse ways, putting that Marvel clout to good use for projects of all shapes and sizes. Here's what each of the original six Avengers have been up to since Avengers: Endgame released in 2019.

Robert Downey Jr.

With Downey Jr. seemingly done in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the much celebrated actor has put a lot of work into Team Downey, the production company he runs with his wife, Susan Downey. In addition to upcoming TV movies, as well as a new take on Perry Mason, Downey Jr. is focusing on becoming more of a producer in his post-Marvel life. Still, that doesn’t mean he'll be completely absent from screens.

Downey Jr. recently hosted and narrated the YouTube documentary series The Age of A.I. and starred in Dolittle, which finally released in theaters in January 2020, but was unfortunately a box office disappointment. While it's been reported that Downey Jr. will make an appearance in November's Black Widow, via archive footage from a previous MCU film, he's still gone from Marvel's universe. Instead, his biggest upcoming movies are Jamie Foxx’s All-Star Weekend, which is about two friends who end up supporting opposing NBA stars, and Sherlock Holmes 3, long-awaited sequel to 2011's Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Sherlock Holmes 3 is currently slated to release in December 2021 and be directed by Dexter Fletcher.

Chris Evans

Chris Evans' first post-Marvel movie was the Netflix true-life thriller The Red Sea Diving Resort, which received mixed-to-negative reviews despite its good intentions. However, Evans really hit a home run with his performance in the star-studded murder mystery Knives Out, from writer-director Rian Johnson, standing out amongst a sea of great performances. And in keeping with his unpredictable performances, Evans also joined Apple TV+'s Defending Jacob, a limited series based on the novel of the same name. Evans portrays a father dealing with the fact that his 14 year old son (his Knives Out co-star Jaeden Martell) has been accused of murder.

While Evans has no confirmed role lined up, he has been rumored to appear in two exciting projects. The first is a role in Greg Berlanti’s remake of Little Shop of Horrors as sadistic dentist Orin Scrivello, while the other is a possible team-up with Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson for horror thriller Bermuda Triangle. Either way, the former Captain is keeping busy outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Scarlett Johansson

Perhaps the actor with the most exciting post-Endgame career has been Scarlett Johansson, who delivered two critically-acclaimed performances in 2019. One was as an actress going through a divorce with Adam Driver’s theatre director in Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, while the other was playing the mother of a young Hitler Youth fanatic in Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit. So acclaimed were Johansson’s performances that she was nominated for both Best Actress (for Marriage Story) and Best Supporting Actress (for Jojo Rabbit) at the 2020 Oscars.

Up next, Johansson will return as Natasha Romanoff in the highly-anticipated Black Widow movie. Set to take place in between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, Johansson leads a cast that also includes Florence Pugh and Rachel Weisz, with Johansson also serving as executive producer on the film. Other projects on the horizon include a return to the role of punk rock porcupine Ash in animated sequel Sing 2, plus a reunion with Chris Evans could be in the cards as she's rumored to star in Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey.

Chris Hemsworth

Shortly after Avengers: Endgame released, Chris Hemsworth attempted to revive another Marvel franchise with Men in Black: International, which co-starred Tessa Thompson, but sadly the film was both a commercial and critical failure. Other releases since Avengers: Endgame include a cameo appearance in Kevin Smith’s Jay & Silent Bob Reboot and the lead role in Netflix's Extraction, a movie produced by the Russo Brothers which has since become one of the biggest ever released on the streaming service.

Like Johansson, Hemsworth will soon return to the MCU. He'll be reprising his role as Thor on both the small and big screens, by voicing his character in the Disney+ series What If…?, which imagines hypothetical situations where events in the MCU take a much different turn, and in Thor: Love and Thunder, the fourth Thor movie, which also sees the return of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster. Thor: Ragnarok’s Taika Waititi is returning to write and direct that film for a February 2022 release. Hemsworth will also be teaming up with Joker director Todd Phillips to produce and star in a biopic of wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan.

Mark Ruffalo

Bruce Banner in Avengers compound in Avengers: Endgame

Following Avengers: Endgame's release, Ruffalo starred in the Todd Haynes film Dark Waters, a true story based on corporate defense attorney Robert Bilott's fight against the DuPont corporation, after discovering they contaminated a town’s water supply with unregulated chemicals. It's a role that combines Ruffalo’s talents as an actor along with his outspoken political beliefs of holding those in power accountable.

Ruffalo also has plenty of projects in the pipeline; not only will he also be lending his voice to the What If…? animated series, but he will also appear in Derek Cianfrance’s TV show I Know This Much is True in a dual role of identical twin brothers. He's also attached to appear in JFK assassination drama Newsflash as Don Hewitt alongside Chris Pine, replacing previously announced Seth Rogen as legendary newscaster Walter Cronkite.

Rumor-wise, it's hard to imagine that there wouldn’t be a role for Ruffalo in the She-Hulk TV series that is currently in development for Disney+, although nothing has been confirmed yet. Ruffalo’s name has also been attached to Bong Joon-ho and Adam McKay’s Parasite TV series that is being developed for HBO. So, even if the big green guy doesn’t return for a while, Ruffalo will be keeping himself busy.

Jeremy Renner

Jeremy Renner hasn’t appeared on-screen since Avengers: Endgame released, but he did lend his voice to the animated movie Arctic Dogs, alongside the vocal talents of Alec Baldwin, James Franco, and Heidi Klum. Renner’s energy has largely been focused on his music ambitions since 2019. While he has released singles in the past, he debuted his first full rock EP in March 2020 called The Medicine.

Moving forward, Renner is set to return as Barton in the Disney+ series Hawkeye, where he’ll be training Kate Bishop in order for her to carry on the Hawkeye mantle. Likewise to Ruffalo and Hemsworth, he will also appear in the What If…? animated series, meaning that his association with Marvel is far from over. Renner is also set to play Twitch Williams alongside Jamie Foxx in Todd McFarlane’s long gestating Spawn movie. Set to be a hard-R reboot of the character, a release date is yet to be set as McFarlane continues to find the means to get the budget for the movie without sacrificing his creative control.

Next: Avengers: Endgame Released 1 Year Ago: How The MCU’s Future Changed Since