Avengers: Endgame Writers Clarify Captain America’s Ending

Avengers: Endgame's release was back in April, and soon enough the rabid Marvel fandom will be able to get ahold of their own physical copies. DVD and Blu-ray copies are hitting stores in a matter of days, and plenty of new information about the blockbuster should come with the special features. Writers Christopher McFeely and Stephen Markus have been helping to promote the upcoming release, and recently clarified more information about Captain America's twist ending.

The final scenes of Avengers: Endgame saw Steve Rogers become an old man, after living his life with Peggy in the past. It was a beautiful and emotional conclusion, but fans had plenty of questions about the timeline. One theory was that the current Steve Rogers was living during The Avengers' adventures, watching a younger version of himself save the world. Now Markus has seemingly confirmed that, saying:

Touche. While it seems like the MCU could have the narrative, Christopher Markus believes that an older Steve Roger was alive during the events of the Phases One through Thee. Obviously he had to be sure not to interact with his younger self, although he did have some luck when still living as a younger man: the other Steve was frozen in ice.

Christopher Markus' comments to Collider are sure to excite the Marvel fans who subscribed to this fan theory. Captain America's happy ending was the final twist from Avengers: Endgame, allowing the character to finally rest and be reunited with the love of his life. It was a fitting ending, in stark juxtaposition to the sacrifices made by Black Widow and Iron Man in order to reverse the snap and defeat Thanos.

Related: Even The Avengers: Endgame Writers Admit Time Travel Is Ludicrous

But the scene in question was relatively short, so there are plenty of questions and fan theories lingering regarding Steve Rogers' final bow. Christopher Markus' tenure at Marvel may be over, but he's got an idea of how things went down for Chris Evans' signature character. It seems that there were two Steves in the new timeline, with the other character staying in the sidelines. What's more, it might indicate that was also at Peggy's funeral in Captain America: Civil War.

The use of time travel in Avengers: Endgame should presumably have a ton of fall out in Phase Four and beyond. A major macguffin has been introduced, and the Avengers' Time Heist is sure to have affects on various timelines. Loki's escape created its own timeline for his Disney+ series, and Steve Rogers' life with Peggy is a total mystery.

Captain America's ending harkened back to his very first appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in Captain America: The First Avenger. The origin story saw Steve Rogers go from scrawny kid to super soldier, making way for the myriad superheroes that eventually followed in his shoes. In addition to introducing moviegoing audiences to the title character, the first Cap movie also introduced Peggy Carter, and one of the overarching love stories of the great shared universe.

Peggy Carter always represented the one that got away for Steve Rogers. Because despite falling in love while serving together in The First Avenger, their romance came to a quick end when Captain America sacrificed himself. Rogers put his life on the line to bury the danger of The Tesseract in the ocean, and was frozen for 70 years before eventually being thawed out. But time didn't stop for Peggy, who had aged into an old woman (and had a brief TV show on ABC).

Timing proved to be the true problem in Steve and Peggy's relationship. After visiting his former lover, she eventually died early in the run of Captain America: Civil War. Cap was a pallbearer at her funeral, and the grief of her loss no doubt influenced his feelings about the Sokovia Accords. Although if Avengers: Endgame's writers are to be believed, it's likely that there was a second, older Steve Rogers also present during this scene.

Despite getting his happy ending with Peggy, Steve already knew her fate, and when exactly she would die. This adds an interesting dynamic to the character's fate in Avengers: Endgame, as his life with Agent Carter had a definitive end date. Furthermore, it would stand to reason that the couple would have to keep Steve's identity a secret, at least while he was still young.

Steve Rogers returned as an old man for a relatively brief scene during Endgame's conclusion. The OG Avenger seemed content with his life, although he's purposefully vague about just what his decades of life looked like. Fans are eager for more information about what those years looked like, although it's unclear if/when any answers might be coming to moviegoers.

One possible way this time might be accounted for is the upcoming Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. When Old Man Steve Rogers returned to the present in Endgame, he had a goal in mind: to pass on the mantle of Captain America. This honor went to Sam Wilson/Falcon, one of Cap's most trusted allies in the MCU.

It's unclear if the Disney+ series will feature Sam Wilson as Captain America, but it would be an opportunity to expand Cap's backstory if he did. While Sam's conversation with Steve was brief during Avengers: Endgame, perhaps they had a more lengthy conversation offscreen. Additionally, the upcoming What If... streaming series could also bring those years to light. Although whether or not Chris Evans will want to return to the MCU so quickly remains to be seen.

Avengers: Endgame will be available on Blu-ray and DVD on August 13th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.