After eight long years of being Captain America, Chris Evans has announced that he’s done playing the character. It’s not entirely unexpected considering that his contract was expiring in 2019.

But for those who have been following Steven Rogers’ career from Captain America who brought down HYDRA in World War II to a fugitive who survived Thanos’s snap, it is a bit of a somber moment. More on the story below.

Evans took to Twitter to make the heartbreaking announcement saying:

Officially wrapped on Avengers 4. It was an emotional day to say the least. Playing this role over the last 8 years has been an honor. To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful.

— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) October 4, 2018

And here’s the text just in case you cannot read the embed:

In the eight years that Evans has played the character, he has appeared in 10 films, three Captain America films, four Avengers films, and three cameos in films that include Thor: The Dark World, Ant-Man, and Spider-Man: Homecoming. That is dedication. And it’s nice to see he’s expressing his gratitude to Marvel Studios. And this is only after he turned down the role multiple times.

Of course, just because Evans is done playing Cap doesn’t mean that Cap is done for. Marvel Studios is said to take a James Bond approach to keep the character alive by casting other actors in the role. Now, when a new actor will play Cap is unclear. Marvel doesn’t appear to be in a huge rush to cast the role. They’ve got other character standalone films to carry on the Marvel Cinematic Universe torch before they even think about casting a new actor for the role.

So Evans will be missed. And it’s going to be hard to replace a man with a body as nicely chiseled as his. I mean, Captain America gave us all a reason to go to the gym. Which reminds me, I really need to go to the gym.

The currently untitled Avengers 4 is scheduled to open in theaters on May 3, 2019.

[Source: Chris Evans’ Twitter]