There’s change coming in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Captain America star Chris Evans indicating that he’s going to leave the role after eight years.

Evans, 37, portrayed one of the original cinematic Avengers alongside Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye in 10 of the 22 MCU movies. He’s now officially finished his filming for the fourth Avengers movie, and took to Twitter on Thursday (October 4th) to say that portraying Steve Rogers / Captain America has been “an honour”.

“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 honour. To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful,” Evans said.

Chris EvansChris Evans pictured in 2017

While that’s not a done deal, the star has all but confirmed that he's leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Predictably, there was a huge outpouring of emotion from MCU fans on social, including from Deadpool star Ryan Reynolds who wrote “I’m not crying. I’m weeping. There’s a difference”.

More: Chris Evans says Captain America is a “little dangerous” in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ [archive]

His apparent retirement from playing the character has been on the cards for a while, and it's no secret that the fourth Avengers is the final film in his multi-movie Marvel contract.

Earlier in 2018, he Evans told an interviewer that he’d prefer to bow out and leave the audience wanting more instead of waiting until they got tired of him. “You want to get off the train before they push you off,” he told the New York Times.

Evans is already planning his post-Captain America future, as he’s set to star in and executive-produce Apple's drama series ‘Defending Jacob’, about a father whose teenage son is accused of a grisly murder.

More: Marvel producer says ‘Captain America’ movies are a “unique challenge”