Avengers: Endgame Directors Explain How Old Man Cap Got Back To The Main Timeline

While Avengers: Endgame left us with a ton of questions that future projects may or may not answer, perhaps none have inspired more debate online than what happened at the conclusion of Captain America’s journey.

On the one hand, there are those who say that Steve’s retirement plan saw him live out a happy life with Peggy Carter in the main timeline, which would mean that there’s secretly been two Caps living in the MCU for decades now. On the other hand, though, many believe that this theory goes against the rules of time travel established by the Avengers: Infinity War sequel, and that the First Avenger actually married Peggy in a completely different timeline.

Even the creative team who put together the movie can’t seem to agree on what happened to the beloved hero. While co-directors Anthony and Joe Russo have said they believe in the alternate timeline explanation, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have repeatedly argued that there are two Caps.

But assuming the Russos are right, then how exactly did Steve cross back over to the main timeline at the end of the film to give Sam his shield? Well, the directors recently took part in a Reddit AMA and shed some light on that, explaining:

He would have had to have worn the quantum suit, using a pym particle to make the jump. He’s not wearing the suit on the bench, because that is not the exact moment to which he returned.

So, that clears that up then, but again, one has to question how this is even possible in the first place given the rules of time travel that were laid out in Endgame. It’s a debate that likely won’t ever be resolved and the filmmakers have even said that the ending was designed to be open to interpretation, meaning that whatever your personal understanding of it is, it’s equally valid.

Tell us, though, do you think that Steve lived out his life with Peggy Carter in a separate timeline, or do you side with Avengers: Endgame writers Markus and McFeely and believe that there are really two Caps in the MCU? As always, share your thoughts with us down below.