Chris Evans made his triumphant return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Deadpool & Wolverine, but instead of playing Captain America, he reprised his role as Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch — but there was something off about his performance, and director Shawn Levy’s recent comments have me even more bothered by the whole thing. For nearly a decade, Evans played Steve Rogers aka Captain America in the MCU, but before 2008’s Iron Man launched the now-massive superhero franchise, the actor played another Marvel hero: Johnny Storm in Fox’s 2000s Fantastic Four movies.

It was this role that Evans reprised for one of Deadpool & Wolverine’s many cameos. Like Wesley Snipes’ Blade and Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Evans’ appearance wasn’t merely a cameo, but an opportunity to bid the hero a fond farewell as Fox’s Marvel universe was officially added to the MCU multiverse. While it was nice to see Evans’ Johnny Storm on screen again, there was one aspect of his performance that I kept getting hung up on: his accent. Now, the director’s comments about Evans’ Deadpool & Wolverine role just make the lack of continuity even worse.

Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm Has A Boston Accent In Deadpool & Wolverine And It Bothered Me SO MUCH

Both 2000s Fantastic Four Movies Are Set In New York City

Listen, I’m aware that taking issue with Chris Evans’ accent in Deadpool & Wolverine is nitpicky – but I was born and raised in the New York Metropolitan Area. I know the difference between a New York and a Boston accent, and it was very clear to me that Evans let his Boston accent slip through while playing Johnny Storm in Deadpool & Wolverine. That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, except it doesn’t make sense for Johnny’s character.

Both of the Fantastic Four movies take place primarily in New York City, and while it’s not established that Johnny Storm originates from there, the comics character does hail from a town on Long Island. That would suggest Johnny Storm should have an accent closer to that of a New Yorker than a Bostonian. Further, Evans’ character didn’t have a Boston accent in Fox’s two Fantastic Four movies, and I’m baffled as to why he has one in Deadpool & Wolverine since, presumably, he’s been living in New York City for the last 20 years. But the director’s comments offer some insight.

Director Shawn Levy’s Comments About Chris Evans’ Accent Only Makes It More Glaringly Out Of Character

Levy Admitted That He Didn’t Question Why Evans Brought His Boston Accent To Johnny Storm

In an interview on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, Shawn Levy discussed the Deadpool & Wolverine post-credits scene, which features Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm going on an expletive-filled rant about the movie’s villain, Cassandra Nova. When I saw the movie, I noticed that Evans’ Boston accent was especially pronounced in this scene, and Levy also seemingly heard the accent. The director said of Evans’ monologue in the Deadpool & Wolverine post-credits scene:

It’s not the righteous kind of cleanliness of Cap. It’s Johnny with that Boston edge that Chris Evans has. Like, I even feel like there’s a weird accent I never quite understood, but I was like, ‘I’m loving it, don’t need to understand it, yes please, more of that.’

As a Chris Evans fan, and as a Johnny Storm fan, I do need to understand the reasoning behind giving a New York character a Boston accent, actually. Again, I realize it’s nitpicky to take issue with Johnny Storm’s accent in Deadpool & Wolverine, but Levy’s job as the director is to ensure an actor is staying in character. And on a grander scale, Deadpool & Wolverine’s goal was to honor the Fox Marvel movies that came before it. I don’t understand how letting Evans bring his Boston accent to a character that doesn’t have a Boston accent is honoring Johnny Storm’s cinematic legacy.

I Love Chris Evans’ Marvel Heroes But I Was Disappointed By His Deadpool & Wolverine Cameo

It Was Not The Sendoff Johnny Storm Deserved

It’s clear to me from Chris Evans’ performance as Johnny Storm in Deadpool & Wovlerine and Shawn Levy’s comments about the accent that everyone involved seemed more invested in making sure he was as different to Steve Rogers as possible. Unfortunately, I think that was the wrong way to go about it, and I think it shows in what’s on screen. Not only does Evans’ Johnny Storm have a Boston accent that makes no sense, but a lot of other things about the character differ from what appears in Fox’s Fantastic Four movies, and it’s seemingly only to serve the single joke of Deadpool mistaking him for Captain America.

Johnny Storm’s costume was redesigned so that the pants could easily be mistaken for belonging to Captain America, which makes it much less comics- and movie-accurate. Johnny Storm was easily defeated by Pyro, despite the fact that the Fantastic Four hero is much more powerful. His expletive-filled tirade is, of course, the complete antithesis of Captain America’s “Language” moment from Avengers: Age of Ultron. And even Evans’ look as Johnny Storm, with the longer brown hair and beard, is extremely different to his appearance in Fox’s Fantastic Four movies.

All that’s to say, I’m disappointed by Evans’ Johnny Storm appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine because even though he was playing his Fantastic Four character, everything about the cameo seems like it was built around Captain America. As a result, it doesn’t feel like a proper sendoff to Johnny Storm, it just feels like Evans playing himself playing a charicature of the Human Torch. The fact that Evans lets his Boston accent slip while playing Johnny Storm, and Levy allowed him to get away with it, isn’t the only reason I was disappointed by the Deadpool & Wolverine cameo, but it was the thing that really, really bothered me.