Warning: SPOILERS for Avengers: Endgame are in play. If you’re worried about spoiling the fun, bookmark this piece and come back once you’ve experienced the magic for yourself.
While a movie like Avengers: Endgame is designed to wrap up a lot of history in a neat and tidy package, the expectation is also set for that same film to drop some hints towards the future. And if some eagle-eyed, or rather eagle-eared, moviegoers are right, a pretty big clue towards another hero’s debut may have been woven into the film’s narrative. And that hero just might be Captain Britain himself, Brian Braddock.
As the story goes, during the 1970 section of the big time heist in Avengers: Endgame, Steve Rogers hides in what he finds out is Peggy Carter’s office as the S.H.I.E.L.D. director at Camp Lehigh. While seeing the love of his life in her prime, we overhear something about how an operative named Braddock hasn’t checked in.
This small reference doesn’t come up again in Avengers: Endgame, but some fans think that this particular name drop means that Captain Britain might be on his way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Looking into the history of the character’s existence in reality, as well as the timeline of this particular scene, just might tell us what this could mean for the MCU.
Debuting in 1976, Captain Britain’s origin story involved Brian Braddock’s isolated, but well-off, beginnings, which eventually saw him gaining superpowers after being visited by Merlin himself. Captain Britain would later go on to work for the U.K.’s version of S.H.I.E.L.D., names S.T.R.I.K.E. This connection is interesting, considering it furthers the connection between Captain Britain and the existing Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Should this reference picked out by ComicBookMovie.com be true, and Captain Britain is being seeded into the MCU, then the S.T.R.I.K.E. team, introduced with Brock Rumlow and his associates in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, could be that very same team. So not only could Captain Britain become another entry in Marvel’s cinematic canon, whether it be in Phase 4 or beyond, there’s a chance we could see another period piece fleshing out the backstory of this very universe.
Considering we’ve seen several rounds of speculation and backtracking around the fact that Simon Pegg once said he’d want to play Captain Britain, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to possibly start sniffing around a scenario that would see Pegg brought on to bring this legendary hero to life.
Maybe this could even be the project that would act as the ultimate mea culpa to director Edgar Wright. With full creative control possibly being granted to the man who was once set to direct Ant-Man, before circumstances spun out of control, we might see a new age of filmmakers being brought into Marvel Studios history.
For now though, all we have is a fun reference that could pan out into a future round of fun. With everything else that’s already in the works for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s not like the company is hurting for options. But at the same time, if the hypothetical scenario we described is the best chance for this reference to pay off, then we’re going to cross our fingers and let the wishing begin!
Avengers: Endgame is currently in theaters now, ready for you to experience for the first or fifth time.
