Literally All Your Favorite MCU Heroes Are Playing In This Charity Fantasy Football League
Ryan Reynolds, Robert Downey Jr., and all three Chrises (Evans, Pratt, and Hemsworth) are all taking part—and talking smack.
By Evan Romano | September 13, 2019
SUZI PRATTGETTY IMAGES
- Joe Russo—co-director of Avengers: Endgame— and ESPN's Matthew Berry have organized a superhero-stuffed Fantasy Football league, competing for charity.
- Chris Pratt, Ryan Reynolds, and Chris Evans are among the smack-talking competitors.
- The Russos and Berry will issue updates on the league throughout the season.
So Iron Man, Captain America, Star-Lord, and Deadpool are in a Fantasy League together...
It almost sounds like the start of a mediocre joke you'd hear from a friend, but thanks to Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo and ESPN's Matthew Berry, that joke set-up is actually a reality.
The AGBO Superhero Fantasy Football league—named after The Russo Brothers' production company, AGBO— has brought together 12 superhero actors of the highest regard, and is making them face off week in and week out for a chance to earn some money for charities of their choice. The company has put a $100,000 prize on the table, and each actor will have a chance to win for their charity.
The Russo Brothers have hinted at the league on their social media, but Joe and Berry got into detail on the star-studded league in a video posted to ESPN's YouTube channel. Right at the start of the video, things get off to a bang, as some familiar faces open the trash talking towards their opponents.
"I'm playing Evans this week... Chris Evans. He's an actor. He had a short stint as Captain America, but I think it didn't really work and they ended up killing him off," Chris Pratt said. "I'm excited to beat his ass..."
Evans—who Berry and Russo call a fantasy football "ringer," had something to say, too: "I'm looking at this list of jokers in the league.... just saying. Just saying." Chris Evans said.
Ryan Reynolds—not in the MCU just yet, but a superhero nonetheless, was poking fun, as he's wont to do: "AGBO. Really rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?" he said, trash-talking the establishment rather than any specific person.
Karen Gillan, who plays Nebula in the Marvel movies, made the whole thing almost feel like an elevated episode of The League. "I don't know anything about football. I don't know anything about Fantasy Football," she said. "Which is going to make it all the more embarrassing when I wipe the floor with you men."
Russo said in the video that everyone competing in the league needed to either play a superhero, or have been in a superhero movie (allowing for he and Berry, both of whom had cameo appearances in Avengers: Endgame to compete in the league). Aside from Russo Berry, Pratt, Evans, Reynolds, and Gillan, the league members also include [deep breath]: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Tom Holland, Michael B. Jordan, Anthony Mackie, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd and Miles Teller.
The video goes through each league member, highlighting a few members of their drafted fantasy teams, and also pointing out that some of the stars are playing Fantasy Football for the first time (Tom Holland, Chris Hemsworth, Karen Gillan, Elizabeth Olsen), and others are seasoned vets, like Downey Jr., Evans, and Mackie.
In fact, Men's Health learned a little bit about the football-watching habits of some of those seasoned veterans earlier this year—in our July/August cover story, Mackie opened up about a time when he was watching football with Evans, and he found out a certain detail about his character, Captain America, and Endgame. (On the off chance that you haven't seen Endgame yet, fix that!)
The smack talk has already begun; earlier this afternoon, The Russo Brothers posted a Pratt/Evans smack-talk off to their Twitter account:
https://twitter.com/Russo_Brothers/status/1172569232510509059?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1172569232510509059%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.menshealth.com%2Fentertainment%2Fa29036437%2Fliterally-all-your-favorite-mcu-heroes-are-playing-in-this-charity-fantasy-football-league%2F
https://twitter.com/Russo_Brothers/status/1170407727308431361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1170407727308431361%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.menshealth.com%2Fentertainment%2Fa29036437%2Fliterally-all-your-favorite-mcu-heroes-are-playing-in-this-charity-fantasy-football-league%2F
Russo and Berry promised in the video to keep fans in the loop on how the league goes, and who will win.
https://twitter.com/Russo_Brothers/status/1170407727308431361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1170407727308431361%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.menshealth.com%2Fentertainment%2Fa29036437%2Fliterally-all-your-favorite-mcu-heroes-are-playing-in-this-charity-fantasy-football-league%2F
They even said that the stars should be expected to post some more trash-talking videos, too. With the NFL season in full-swing, it'll be extra fun to keep up with how these guys all have fun with something even superpowers can't control—Fantasy Football.
