The lead up to Avengers: Age of Ultron sounds like the busiest time in Chris Evans’ life. Portraying the Avengers’ noble, shield-throwing leader was the easy part: According to the star, a 14-hour day on Age of Ultron would result in a mere seven hours of actual work. But it’s the press tour—a non-stop global effort to remind audiences that Marvel remains the king of the summer movie season—that kicks his ass. Luckily, Evans is a solider. During a down moment at a fan event at New York City’s Samsung Galaxy Studio, we found the actor composed, amicable, and thirsty for lean fruit juice, which he chugged with a smile. If the guy has fatigue, he won’t show it until Avengers dominates America’s box office.

Which makes us wonder: Does it take a real life Steve Rogers to play Marvel’s screen version? To find out, we cross-checked Evans’ own life with Captain America’s defining characteristics.

Evans shares Steve’s moral compass: True

“You hope to see some Steve qualities in you. He does set the bar pretty high. Any time you make a movie where you’re living in a certain head space for an extended period of time, it’s tough not to take a little piece home with you. Sometimes that’s better than other times. If you’re gonna end up taking a piece of Steve home, that’s not the worst thing. It’s almost kinda like growing up with my father. Whenever there was conflict, whether it was between a buddy or a girlfriend, or professionally, you’d think, ‘What would my father do in this situation?’ In a strange, similar regard, you can kind of tell yourself, ‘What would Steve do in this situation?’, because his moral compass and his approach to conflict resolution, rooted in selflessness, is a pretty healthy place to start. I don’t even know if he has manners—he’s just a very selfless man. You know what I mean? He doesn’t complain, he puts himself last, he just does what’s needed of him.”

He lives by Cap’s no swearing rules: False

“I got a real bad potty mouth. I’m from Boston. That’s kind of a way of life back there. They’re a very expressive people.”

When he’s not in work mode, he’s reliving the good old days: True

“I’m soaked in nostalgia. I mean, I live in the past to a fault. You gotta stay [in the] present. The past is the past, but if you’re overanalyzing or trying to repeat it, you’re gonna get stuck. I just had a wonderful youth and I loved everything about it, so I really try and hang on to it. Growing up, I really liked Star Wars. Han Solo would’ve been really cool to meet. But my stuff was real low-brow. I was watching Bugs Bunny.”

He’s built to survive an impending attack: False

“I’ve never had to take a punch, luckily. Something tells me Steve could take it better than I could.”

Red, white, and blue are his favorite colors: True

“You know, it’s so unfortunate—[they’re] my three favorite colors to wear. A couple times, on accident, I’ll just get dressed for the day and I take one step out the door and I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. I can’t wear this. Wearing blue pants, a white shirt, and a red hat. This is a little ridiculous. I should probably go change.'”
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CHRIS EVANS (CAPTAIN AMERICA)

How do these films compare to when you’re the lead character?
It’s a lot more work. That’s really the only difference between the two films. It’s the same character and it’s usually the same group of people. Marvel did a great job of bringing back a lot of the same crew and even a lot of the same characters. Even the Captain America characters. The main difference is the workload. When you’re doing an Avengers movie you get a lot more days off, which is nice. When you’re doing a Captain America movie, you’re pretty much there every day.

Do you ever wish that Cap was not as nice as he is?
Of course. I mean, that’s what makes all characters interesting – their flaws, their concepts, their struggles. Cap is such a good man, a magnanimous man, a selfless man and, as a result, he carries a lot of that turmoil. You don’t always get to make mistakes and that’s an entertaining aspect of portraying the character, so yeah, I would love to see Captain America flawed. I think they’re moving that way. Certainly with the next Captain America film there is a lot of struggle.

So the ice is melting a little bit?
Yeah, definitely. All I can say is that he’s going to be struggling a little bit; things aren’t going to be so clear and he’s going to have to lean on his morals and values to find the right answer. With the next film, they’re going to do a very good job of making the right answer difficult to find. Nobody is right, nobody is wrong and decisions have to be made that are going to leave some people unhappy. I think that messes with the concept.

You’ve moved into directing as well. How would you fancy taking on a Marvel film?
Oh God. I don’t know how they’ve pulled it off. It’s such a challenge and so evolved and there are so many people that you have to collaborate with. Given the scope and the size of the film I don’t know if I have the power.

What about the rumours that you’ll quit acting after Captain America?
Oh no. I did an interview and said that once I’m through with Captain America I’d like to focus a bit more on directing. Never ever did I say I was quitting acting, but somehow that was the headline – that I was retiring. I love acting and I will always act. I just meant that in my immediate future, the thing that I’m most interested in is directing.

Is there any costume envy on set?
Everyone has different challenges. I mean, Ruffalo has to wear this kind of motion-capture pyjama onesie which looks incredibly comfortable, but he also looks incredibly foolish, whereas Hemsworth and I get to walk round looking incredibly cool but it takes about an hour to go to the bathroom. So there’s a trade-off.

So that’s Captain America’s weakness? Give him lots of water to drink and he’ll be incapacitated for an hour…
Exactly!

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Nerds: if you had to choose a way to die, what would it be? Beaten to a pulp by Captain America and Hawkeye, right? Well get ready to be jealous…

Two of the earth’s mightiest heroes chatted to RadioTimes.com about The Avengers: Age of Ultron, the future of the Marvel universe and how they want to smash my teeth in with Cap’s shield. What can I say? I have a way with people.

As well as the continuing adventures of Iron Man and the rest, Evans had some kind words to say about the rival Fantastic Four reboot. Before donning the star-spangled costume, Evans played Johnny ‘Human Torch’ Storm in the 2005 film, a role now taken by Michael B. Jordan.

“I actually can’t wait to see it,” Evans said magnanimously. “Our movies were very specific, and my take on the character was very specific, so it’s going to be interesting to see what he does with it.”

With persistent rumours of Evans letting another actor take up Captain America’s shield, Evans seemed comfortable with the idea of reboots and recastings:

“That’s the beautfiul thing about these characters,” he explained, “whether it’s Batman or Superman…”
…or Captain America?

“…or Captain America, which I’m sure at some point someone else will play. It’s like James Bond, someone else is always going to reincarnate them and play them a different way. That’s great to be a part of the lineage. It’s not yours to keep, it never was.”

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Captain America to the rescue!

Chris Evans this week recorded an inspiring video for Owen Simmons, a 7-year-old boy hospitalized with heart trouble – and Owen, a huge superhero fan, was so excited that he recorded a video to send back to Evans.

“I hear you’re going through some stuff. But you know what, you’re a warrior. Don’t forget it,” the Avengers: Age of Ultron actor told Owen. In his video reply, Owen said: “You are the best superhero in my world, and your suit is very cool!”

Evans reaches out to sick children regularly, even dressing as Captain America to visit Seattle Children’s Hospital with Chris Pratt back in March.

Owen, meanwhile, was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), or half a heart. He has had three pallative open heart surgeries that allow him to survive. He is currently on a wait list for a heart transplant.

His family regularly blogs about their journey on this site>.

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Iron Man and Captain America will be forming a united front in their battle against Ultron when Avengers: Age of Ultron opens in May. As Marvel fans know, they will be faced with significant differences in the upcoming Captain America: Civil War, however.

IGN had the opportunity to speak with Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) and Chris Evans (Captain America), as well as President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige during the press rounds for Avengers 2 – stay tuned for more on that! While there, we touched on what we can expect from the upcoming Civil War and the rift between these two leaders.

In some ways, the events of the last several Marvel films have given us a Cap who is interested in transparency (given the catastrophic consequences of SHIELD’s secret keeping) and a Tony Stark who is focused on control. As we’ve seen in the promotional materials for Ultron, Tony is looking for one sweeping solution to keep the world safe – and he believes he is the man to find it. When asked if this was the crux of the wedge that is driven between he and Cap, Downey said to some degree, yes. However, as with most things, there is also a more primal element in play for Tony – jealousy.

“On the surface it’s that,” the actor reflected. “But also [Tony] Stark grew up under the shadow of this very close father son/relationship that Howard [Stark] had with Steve [Rogers, Captain America] so I’m sure that it’s driven by some unconscious motives. At the same time, they’re two vastly different generations of moral psychology. And arguably, Cap’s is more righteous. But I think Tony is a realist. So that’s always a fun dynamic to play.”

When asked if Civil War could be a swan song for Iron Man, Downey quipped, “Sure, anything could be. But they haven’t written me out of the schedule yet.”

For his part, Evans is excited to have the opportunity to explore the ideological differences between the two characters.

“This is why I think the next movie is going to be so effective – Civil War – because there’s a flip-flop in the way we approach things,” the actor said of Cap and Iron Man. “Tony’s always been a trailblazer. He’s always been his own man and he bucks authority. He dances to the beat of his own drum. Cap comes from a world or order, and organization, and hierarchy, and structure. And I think after Cap 2 when SHIELD kind of fell that Cap kind of realized that you can’t necessarily trust the people around you – or you can’t trust the system. I think he now is kind of starting to follow his own heart, and do his own thing, and as a result there becomes this kind of flip-flop in perspective.”
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Babysitting can sure make you rethink your future family plans!

Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans have developed such a strong bond both on and off the screen while working on Avengers: Age of Ultron. In fact, their friendship has resulted in the opportunity for Evans to babysit the Australian actor’s kids.

So, did hanging out with a few little ones make Evans rethink his bachelor status? The short answer is yes!

“You get to a point where you want the next thing,” Evans shared with E! News before the film hits theatres May 1. “You see people who are just so happy and have great kids.”

He added, “It’s one of those things you’re looking forward to doing. You can’t rush it, but that’s definitely where I’m looking.”

Perhaps the first step into creating one big happy family is finding a special girl. Hey Hemsworth, could you find a few eligible ladies for your bro?

“I’ve got a few Australian girls,” he joked before making a special note. “They want a green card.” Come on, who wouldn’t want to date Captain America?

Perhaps Evans is just too busy poking fun at his co-star. When asked how he feels about Hemsworth’s title of “Sexiest Man Alive,” the actor dropped a hilarious bombshell of his own that could have fooled a few admirers.

“I said no thanks. You can have it this year, man,” he joked. “I know it. We all know it. Let Hemsworth have it….I called it, come on.” LOL! But trust us, these jokes go both ways. When asked why he trusts Evans with his children, Hemsworth had a simple reason: They act the same age.

“They’re on the same intelligence level,” he admitted. “He needs to have his diapers changed. It’s kind of easy.” The superhero shade is real (and hilarious) folks.

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Videos below the cut:
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Love. Control. Creation. What we have with Avengers: Age of Ultron is not just a superhero movie, but a story about creating our own worst enemies.

In Entertainment Weekly’s Summer Movie Preview, we devote our cover—four collectible covers, actually—to the May 1 movie about the malevolent artificial-intelligence and the team of heroes he hates more than life itself.

Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury is struggling to hold together the superhero team he assembled as they face Ultron (James Spader) and a set of troubled twins: Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Quicksilver. These new characters are the products of Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann), a new villain from HYDRA, which infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. long ago and raided its most powerful technologies.

Strucker has been using Loki’s scepter for human experimentation, which bestowed the siblings with powers of magic (Scarlet Witch) and speed (Quicksilver). But the bad baron piques the interest of Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark for other reasons. “Von Strucker was working on a lot of stuff, including robotics,” says Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. “Tony realizes, ‘[Those robotics] might be able to help me get over the hump of some of the AI stuff I’ve been working on.’ ”

Stark’s invention, Ultron, is born from the marriage of both men’s technologies. Alas, adolescence is a bitch, and Ultron goes rogue, shreds Stark’s other artificial-intelligence program, J.A.R.V.I.S., and gives rise to his own awesome creation: the synthezoid known as the Vision (played by Paul Bettany, who previously voiced J.A.R.V.I.S.).

Meanwhile, there’s some serious interpersonal drama brewing between the superheroes themselves. For starters, that romance hinted at in the trailer between Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff and Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk alter ego, Bruce Banner, is real. Though this isn’t completely new territory for Marvel movies—see: Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, Thor and Jane Foster, Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter—this is the first time any of the actual Avengers have been tempted to fish off the company pier. In EW’s story, writer-director Joss Whedon explains why he decided to play matchmaker for the Big Green Guy and the Black Widow.

We also talk with Spader about the birth of Ultron—this version anyway—and how the star of The Blacklist got recruited to Marvel Studios’ gallery of rogues. “I am aware that you get one entrance into this world,” he says. “If I’m going to do it, I want it to be something that’s really fun and great.”

This year’s Summer Movie Preview (on sale April 10) also gives you details on Tomorrowland, Inside Out, Jurassic World, Mad Max: Fury Road, Terminator Genisys, Spy, San Andreas, Fantastic Four, and many, many more…

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The makers of Avengers: Age of Ultron want you to know something about this film’s post-credits ending: It’s not there.

Ever since 2008’s Iron Man concluded with a surprise scene of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury revealing to Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark that he has “become part of a bigger universe,” fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have known to stick around to the very end for a surprise.

But this time …

Writer-director Joss Whedon says there won’t be a post-credits scene in Ultron because he felt there was no way to top the post-battle shawarma scene from the last one. “We all came at it separately—we don’t want to chase that,” Whedon says. “That was a jewel and a weird little quirk. “

“There will be a tag,” Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige clarifies. That is, there will be a short, epilogue-like scene that pops up shortly after the credits start. “But there’s not a post-post-credit scene.”

“There is nothing at the very end. And that’s not a fake-out,” Whedon says. “We want people to know so they don’t sit there for 10 minutes and then go: ‘Son of a bitch! I’ll kill them!’”

Whedon says they tried to come up with something worthy of the end-credits shot but ultimately couldn’t top shawarma. “It didn’t seem to lend itself in the same way, and we wanted to be true to what felt right,” Whedon says. “The first rule of making a sequel is take the best moments and do something else. Don’t do the Indiana Jones gun trick again differently. Just go somewhere else. Don’t try to hit the same highs, because people will sense it.”

Also, the movie, out May 1, will include many other superpowered characters seen in previous films, including a few surprises, but rumors of Captain Marvel getting an introduction are false, Feige promises. There is a secret female character, but she may be familiar already. “It’s not a big deal. But it’s a good character,” he says.

E.R.’s Linda Cardellini and Before Sunset’s Julie Delpy have been confirmed as part of the cast, although the filmmakers don’t want to reveal who they are playing yet. One thing is for certain: Someone plays the instructor to a young Black Widow, and Feige and Whedon promise that will be a powerful moment in the history of Scarlett Johansson’s character.

For those who will miss the signature Marvel post-credit button, here’s a look back at the fascinating backstory of how that shawarma scene from the original Avengers film came together.

EW happened to be on set when the moment that gave birth to that idea took place, and we followed along throughout the last-minute filming of the shot, which actually happened after they screened the movie at its 2012 premiere.

“The evolution of the shawarma scene is one of the most fascinating things in my career,” Whedon says.

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Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner will present the Generation Award to the ‘Iron Man’ actor.
Iron Man is getting an award.

MTV announced Thursday that Robert Downey Jr. will receive the MTV Generation Award during the 2015 MTV Movie Awards.

The Marvel actor’s honor will be presented by his Avengers: Age of Ultron co-stars: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner.

Additionally, the cast will premiere a 90-second clip from Joss Whedon’s upcoming sequel during the telecast.

The MTV Generation Award honors actors who have engaged the MTV audience throughout their careers. Past recipients include Mark Wahlberg, Jamie Foxx, Johnny Depp, Reese Witherspoon, Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Sandra Bullock, Mike Myers, Tom Cruise and Jim Carrey.

Downey Jr. will be honored alongside Comedic Genius recipient Kevin Hart and Trailblazer Award recipient Shailene Woodley. Hosted by Amy Schumer, the awards show will also feature appearances by Miles Teller, Reese Witherspoon, Vin Diesel, Sofia Vergara and Jimmy Kimmel.

The 2015 MTV Movie Awards airs live on Sunday, April 12, at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT from Nokia Theater L.A. Live in Los Angeles.

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You might have thought that Chris Evans and Chris Pratt just played superheroes in the movies, but you would have been wrong. These guys really are superheroes.

After making the best Super Bowl bet ever, Captain America and Star-Lord decided that there would be no losers. In the original bet, Evans was supposed to visit Seattle Children’s Hospital if the Seattle Seahawks won, and Pratt was supposed to visit Christopher’s Haven in New England if the New England Patriots won.

After the Patriots won, Pratt quickly honored his portion of the bet and made a trip to Christopher’s Haven as Star-Lord with Chris Evans. And Evans announced that the duo would be visiting Seattle Children’s Hospital as well.

Earlier today, Evans dressed as Captain America visited Seattle Children’s Hospital with Pratt. We’ve embedded some photos below of Evans and Pratt at the hospital.

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@ChrisEvans @prattprattpratt HUGE thanks for making Colton's Day! @seattlechildren Amazing! @DawnDavenportTN pic.twitter.com/rlLO3vAZ8u

— Jennifer Sheets (@JenniferSheets4) March 7, 2015

2nd part of Superbowl bet: done.Now that is how to handle celebrity @prattprattpratt & @ChrisEvans Bloody good effort pic.twitter.com/PRjDaw3CH4

— Lucy Dibbers (@DibbersBakes) March 7, 2015