Chris Evans was emotional as he hung up his shield as the Captain America, a role he has played for nearly a decade.

The actor made the announcement on Thursday via his Twitter angle."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," Evans tweeted.

"To everyone in front of the camera, behind the camera, and in the audience, thank you for the memories! Eternally grateful," he added.

The actor previously spoke about retiring from the character in an interview with a New York-based newspaper. "You want to get off the train before they push you off," he said. 

Evans, who played Johnny Storm in a couple of Fantastic Four films -- first played Steve Rogers aka Captain America in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger.

He then played the character in The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), as well as cameos in a number of other Marvel films.

Evans makes his final appearance as Captain America in the currently untitled Avengers 4.

While his Captain America had a relatively small amount of screentime in this year's Avengers: Infinity War, the writers of that movie and Avengers 4 have reportedly said the hero will be the front and center in the next instalment.