What Chris Evans Would Look Like As The Boys' Homelander
Captain America made an indelible mark on the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it today, thanks in large part to the unforgettable performance of Chris Evans. From humble beginnings in Captain America: First Avenger to battling armies in Avengers: Endgame, the good Captain and his influence have touched just about every corner of the MCU. He's a man who stands up for what he believes in, whether that means fighting the likes of Thanos or, in a heart-wrenching turn of events, his own friends. He prioritizes what he feels is right, no matter the odds.
Compare that to Homelander, the unbelievably narcissistic, deeply corrupt superhero from The Boys played by Antony Starr. His performance is equally as unforgettable as Evans', but for drastically different reasons. Where Captain America is an upstanding hero who's easy to root for in nearly every scenario, Homelander is a selfish demigod who believes he can do whatever he wants with the matchless powers gifted to him. To make matters worse, he covers all his horrendous deeds up with a happy-go-lucky persona, acting as America's golden boy — and for most people in-universe, it sells.
Polar opposites though they may be, one can't help but notice the similarities between the heroes: The blond hair, the blue eyes, the red, white, and blue-themed costumes. One then has to wonder whether the actors who play them switch places and still seem natural in their new roles. The performances would differ, yes, but strictly speaking about looks, it could definitely work. To prove it, Redditor /u/d4danger convincingly deepfakes Evans into The Boys as Homelander in a short video.
Take a look at Captain Homelander
The result looks a bit too natural for comfort — then again, that's the nature of a well-made deepfake. It wouldn't be so bad if, through the magic of time travel, Starr was cast as Captain America in the first place, and Evans as Homelander. Foreign actors have a tendency to land American superhero roles anyway, so it wouldn't be too far off the mark for a Kiwi like Starr to have taken up Cap's famous vibranium shield.
Regardless, something about Evans' facial expressions really sells it in /u/d4danger's video. It's probably the Captain America in him at work, but his smile, his aura of confidence, his patriotic bearing ... it all screams Homelander. A deepfake can't outdo a performance, of course; Starr plays Homelander as if he's always on the verge of breaking out of his Boy Scout shell, which is the truth. To /u/d4danger's credit, the deepfake gets close when Evans' Homelander looks at the baby about halfway through the video.
Come season 3 ofThe Boys, a Captain America analogue named Soldier Boy will join the ranks of the show's Supes, played not by Evans, but by Jensen Ackles. That probably means more deepfakes are on the horizon — hopefully as convincing as /u/d4danger's. For now, fans of The Boys are busy speculating about what role Soldier Boy will play. The show doesn't follow the comic it was based on in every detail, so source material experts are likely in for as many surprises as the rest.