You Aren’t Ready for the MCU Cameos in Apple TV Plus’ Ghosted

This story contains spoilers for Apple TV+’s Ghosted.

Apple TV+’s Ghosted has a lot going for it. Chris Evans makes his long-awaited return to romantic comedies while Ana de Armas gets the spy spotlight she deserved in No Time to Die, and the rapport the two actors built across their projects together (Knives Out and Netflix’s The Gray Man) is on full display as they stumble through as a dysfunctional — but endearing — couple. But it’s not just their chemistry that sees this charming little romantic-action-comedy through — it’s also absolutely stacked with MCU cameos.

Now, this isn’t news. Evans spilled the beans on Good Morning America several days ago. But the MCU is huge and full of roles both big and small. Surely the former Captain America wasn’t talking about any major reunions, right? 

Wrong! Ghosted doesn’t just have a couple former colleagues popping by to hang out for a scene or two, it’s a full-on Captain America reunion. Both Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan swing by — and it seems the two are finally getting to take some not-undeserved swings after their characters were left high and dry so Steve Rogers could go back in time and make out with Peggy Carter in the forties in Avengers: Endgame! 

Is Ghosted just an alternate universe story where Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes try to murder Steve Rogers? Who’s to say, really? Mackie and Stan both play assassins trying to hunt down Evans’ Cole ‘Tax Man’ Riggan, but, as it often is with many romantic comedies, there’s a classic case of wrong place wrong time. de Armas’ Sadie is actually the one they’re looking for, but Cole finds himself kidnapped and with a bounty on his head after trying to track Sadie down after one hell of a first date. 

Because of the aforementioned bounty, Mackie and Stan are working against each other. Given that we’ve spent so much time watching these two snipe at each other in Captain America: Civil War and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, you already know the comedic value there whether you’ve seen Ghosted yet or not. Each man tries to kill the other while attempting to get to Cole and the subsequent bounty on his head, but Mackie ultimately reigns supreme after hitting Stan with a car.

What we really need here is a behind the scenes clip of Mackie cackling like a maniac after it happened, because you know he’s absolutely holding this one over Stan’s head. 

Their character names are a good chuckle for Marvel fans, too. Stan got the lesser “God the Bounty Hunter,” while Mackie’s assassin notes that he is not “the Grandson of Sam.” Get those Leo Points memes ready, everyone! 

Stan and Mackie aren’t the only Marvel friends to make an appearance, either. He may not have officially joined the MCU just yet, but Ryan Reynolds pops by for a quick visit as well. You guessed it: he’s also a bounty hunter! You’ll see him a little bit later in the film, though. Seems the team behind Ghosted knew exactly what they were doing by making sure both Captain Americas and Bucky Barnes got their moment together. (And that moment they get together is almost as long as they have in Endgame before Steve abandons Bucky after he comes back from being dusted by Thanos!)

Ghosted is definitely more than its cameos — it’s a silly, fun, sweet little flick, and you can tell that everyone’s having an absolute blast working together — but dang it sure is nice to see these boys together again! 

Ghosted premieres on Apple TV+ on Friday, April 21st.

Amelia is the entertainment Streaming Editor here at IGN. She’s also a film and television critic who spends too much time talking about dinosaurs, superheroes, and folk horror. You can usually find her with her dog, Rogers. There may be cheeseburgers involved. Follow her across social @ThatWitchMia