It was a probably exactly one month ago that Hayley Atwell confirmed she wasn’t going to be returning to reprise her role as Peggy Carter, and since then, there’s been a search for another female love interest for Steve Rogers (played by Chris Evans), which came in the form of Sharon Carter, Peggy’s niece in this film.

Finally, it has been announced today that they found the actress to play the role.

Deadline has the scoop that Marvel Studios and directors Anthony and Joe Russo have found their new female lead for the Captain America sequel – who will be the modern era equivalent of Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter from The First Avenger. Atwell of course, previously confirmed that she will not have a role in the sequel, despite her character’s name showing up in deleted scenes of The Avengers.

26 year-old Canadian actress Emily VanCamp (Revenge) will reportedly play the lead female role opposite Evans which we can safely presume is Sharon Carter. If confirmed, VanCamp will have beaten out Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey), Emelia Clarke (Game of Thrones), Imogen Poots (Fright Night), Anna Kendrick (End of Watch), Felicity Jones (Like Crazy), and Alison Brie (Community) for the coveted role.

Sharon Carter (aka Agent 13) will bolster the film’s roster of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, adding more credence to an old theory of ours that Captain America 2 would not only explore more of the history of Steve Rogers, but would mesh many elements from the oft-talked about S.H.I.E.L.D. film where characters including Black Widow and Nick Fury could have their backstory explored as well. Sharon Carter is the niece of Peggy Carter (Atwell), the love interest of Cap in the first film.

via ScreenRant.