Avengers: Endgame directors reveal the shocking truth about Captain America’s fate

Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo have provided some explanation around the ending of the film and Captain America’s role in it.

A major talking point from the blockbuster fourth Avengers film, Avengers: Endgame, was the ending scene involving Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson. Marvel Cinematic Universe fans had wondered how Captain America was able to hand over the shield to Falcon in his aged state, as his decision to live a life with his long-time love Peggy Carter would have created another reality.

While fans have been speculating since the film’s release, with many wishing to see Evans’ character on his time-travelling adventure to return the stones, the Russo Brothers have finally addressed the ending scene.

How did Captain America return to the main timeline in Avengers: Endgame?

The pair confirm during an interview with the Lights Camera Barstool podcast (as reported by Cinema Blend) that Captain America did live out his days with Peggy Carter in another reality, with Rogers returning to his normal reality in order to present the shield to Falcon at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Joe Russo commented:

"“One thing that’s clear that Anthony and I have discussed, I don’t know that we’ve discussed this publicly at all, Cap would have had to have travelled back to the main timeline… That’s something that, yes, he would have been in a branch reality, but he would have to travel back to the main timeline to give that shield to Sam Wilson.”"

Time travel is explained throughout the movie by characters such as Smart Hulk and the Ancient One, with the main theory being that if something occurs to change reality, that reality becomes an offshoot of the original, creating its own timeline. The Russos further clarified this during the same interview when further explaining the logistics behind Captain America’s appearance at the end of the film:

"“In our internal logic that we defined in the room, that was the choice that we made, was based on everything that happened he would have been in a branch reality and then had to have shifted over to this, so jumped from one to the other, right, and handed the shield off.”"

This answers a lot of questions fans had at the end of the film, as many were confused as to how old Steve Rogers could appear in the main reality. With the Russos’ answer, we now know that Steve would have had to travel back to the original reality from the branch reality he created so that he could hand over the shield.

The question remains as to whether the retired Captain America stayed in this reality or returned to the reality where he spent his life with Agent Carter. If he remained in the main reality, we could get an appearance from the famous Avenger in the upcoming The Falcon and The Winter Soldier series.

Chris Evans has been rumoured to return to the MCU, however the actor and Marvel have not confirmed the reports. If he was to return in a project, the upcoming Disney+ series seems like the most likely place.

Did the Russos answer your questions about Steve’s return in Avengers: Endgame? Let us know in the comments below!