Think all that talk of multiverses and time travel in Avengers: Endgame couldn’t confuse you any further? Well, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely would like you to hold their beer.
They’ve officially addressed an intriguing fan theory that old Captain America attended Peggy Carter’s funeral in Captain America: Civil War. In a chat with the Los Angeles Time at the 2019 SDCC, the pen-wielding duo were asked if the speculation could actually be the truth. If you’re wondering which of the dozens of fan theories we’re referring to, see the photo in the gallery down below.
What it suggests is that Old Man Cap was at the funeral, and that he helped his younger self carry the coffin. It’s a mind-bending, double-take inducing thought, especially for any funeral-goers. Markus’ immediate reply to the question was: “I would very much like that. There is no set explanation for Cap’s time travel.” He even went on to say that he loves the idea of two Steve Rogers in the timeline.
“I mean, we’ve had public disagreements with [directors Anthony and Joe Russo] about what it necessarily means [laughs], but I love the idea of there being two Steve Rogers in the timeline. One who lived a long life with Peggy and is in the background of that funeral scene watching his young self carry his wife’s coffin up. Not just for the time travel mumbo jumbo of it, but for the just weird, personal pain and satisfaction that would be happening between two Steve Rogers there. I kind of love it.”
The interviewer also suggested Marvel using retconning to make the theory a reality. McFeely said that was up to the studio, replying: “Do they want to tell stories with characters who are gone?” He also went on to ask, rhetorically, if Black Widow is a straight prequel or some sort of alternate timeline.
“Do they want to tell stories with characters who are gone? Do they want to do prequels? [Black Widow], is that just a straight prequel or is that in some sort of alternate timeline? Do they want to embrace the multiverse or not? And if they do, they tell one kind of story,” McFeely continued.
“Captain America could save [John F.] Kennedy in a story, right? Is that a story you want to tell? I don’t know. But they’re retraining the audience. My grandmother might not be able to understand multiverse, but I think a lot of audience members might be down for it. So I don’t know.”
While nothing’s confirmed just yet, it’s entirely possible that the idea could come to fruition in the future. Remember that kid in Iron Man 2, who bravely faced the big, bad robot? How fans thought that might be the future Spider-Man? Well, Kevin Feige took that theory and made it canon, so why couldn’t he do the same for the Cap one?
In any case, Steve Rogers’ role as Captain America might have come to an end in Avengers: Endgame, but Phase 4 will be kicking off next year with Black Widow, which will arrive in theaters on May 1st and ushers in a whole new era for the MCU.