Just as we were all predicting, Avengers: Endgame brought some closure to the arc of Captain America. But while we’re clearly meant to interpret this week’s release as Steve Rogers’ swan song, it’s perhaps still worth speculating on whether or not Marvel Studios might give the First Avenger any further outings somewhere down the line. And in case you still haven’t had a chance to check out the Avengers: Infinity War sequel, be warned that some pretty big spoilers lie ahead.
As those who’ve seen the film will know, Chris Evans’ character manages to come out of his latest adventure in one piece, but it’s implied that his adventuring days are over. To recap, the movie’s final minutes see Steve traveling back in time to return all the Infinity Stones. But instead of making the jump back to the present day, he instead chooses to retire from the superhero game and settle down with Peggy Carter. By the time Steve reunites with his present day peers, he’s an old man who looks to be nearing the end of his life.
Now, if your question is whether or not we should expect to see any further Captain America outings, our answer would be: absolutely, only it won’t be the Steve Rogers version. At the conclusion of Endgame, the hero passes his shield on to Sam Wilson, who’s set to return in the upcoming Falcon and Winter Soldier TV show.
As for the possibility of Steve himself making a comeback, well, Endgame certainly left Marvel with some options. For one thing, the film introduced the notion of alternate timelines, including the reality where Loki runs off with the Tesseract and Cap loses a fight with a future version of himself. What’s more, seeing how Steve lived a full life with Peggy, perhaps there’s still potential for the two of them to have further adventures together.
Regardless, you could probably make the case that Marvel should leave Steve’s story as is. After all, the ending of Avengers: Endgame brought a fitting sense of closure to his journey, and to bring back the hero for future movies may leave audiences feeling a little cheated. At the very least, Disney might want to wait a while before they try anything new with Evans’ character, but in the meantime, fans will be eager to see how Falcon fill his shoes.