'I Had To Jump’: Why Chris Evans Turned Down A Movie To Join Dwayne Johnson In Christmas Film Red One

The 2023 holiday season is set to be extra special this year with an exclusive treat for those with an Amazon Prime subscription—a front-row seat to the highly anticipated new Christmas movie, Red One. Directed by Jake Kasdan and a script from Chris Morgan, this action-adventure extravaganza is a potential franchise starter and marks the first collaboration between Hollywood powerhouses Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Chris Evans. During a recent appearance, the former Captain America performer explained why he was happy to turn down another movie to work with the WWE veteran on the Christmas action movie.

During a recent video from The View, Evans shared why he happily passed up another movie opportunity to work alongside The Rock. The MCU alum explained his decision-making process, stating that such unique holiday opportunities don't come around often for him. He expressed his enthusiasm, saying:

They just don’t come around very often. That’s kind of why I had to jump at it. Last year… there were two opportunities, one was a movie about space and one was Red One. I love space, but like I said, I’ve been doing this a while, and Christmas movies just don’t happen enough. I had to jump at it.

Marvel fans might be surprised that Evans was happy to accept Johnson's offer to join the cast of a holiday flick. Additionally, diehard enthusiasts of the House of Ideas’ slate of movies might find it equally surprising that the Avengers: Endgame actor has expressed missing aspects of his time in the MCU but has no current plans of returning and hasn't engaged in any discussions about appearing in upcoming Marvel movies. If you're hoping for a Steve Rogers comeback soon, especially following reports that indicated Marvel has an interest in reuniting the OG Avengers, it doesn't seem likely to happen anytime soon.

Red One, poised to be the first installment in a potential franchise, promises to reimagine holiday mythology freshly and excitingly. The action-adventure Christmas film stars not only Evans and “The Rock” but also a stacked ensemble cast including Kiernan Shipka, Lucy Liu, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, and J. K. Simmons, set to play a version of Santa who, based on the first look at the Santa character, is totally jacked. 

Not much is known about the premise of Red One, and aside from revealing the characters played by the Black Adam and Captain America stars, no plot details have been disclosed. However, we do have a succinct description of the overall tone of this eagerly anticipated holiday movie. When the project was unveiled in June 2021, Deadline characterized the movie as a four-quadrant holiday action-adventure comedy. In simpler terms, the film aims to appeal to a broad audience, catering to both male and female viewers, of all ages.

While the Lightyear voice actor has never definitively closed the door on reprising his role as Cap, at present, he appears more enthused about exploring new ventures, such as starring in the upcoming Yuletide adventure. As the holiday season approaches, the prospect of Red One joining the ranks of the best Christmas movies ever and the potential launch of a festive cinematic franchise is undeniably exciting.

The latest Chris Evans and Dwayne Johnson movie is set to hit the 2023 movie release schedule, just in time for the holiday season; however, we still don’t have a specific release date. We will update you if there is any information regarding the movie’s release. 

Ryan LaBee
Writer

Ryan graduated from Missouri State University with a BA in English/Creative Writing. An expert in all things horror, Ryan enjoys covering a wide variety of topics. He's also a lifelong comic book fan and an avid watcher of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.