There’ve been a lot of questions asked about Steve Rogers’ journey through time in Avengers: Endgame, and while the brains behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe are under no obligations to offer any answers, it’s interesting nonetheless to discover that the writers and directors of of the movie have very different ideas and theories as to what happened.
The original Captain America was name-dropped on a regular basis throughout The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as his shadow loomed large over the narrative, but nobody would clear up his fate definitively. That’s a deliberate decision on Kevin Feige’s part, though, even if some viewers were left infuriated at the lack of closure as to whether Steve is alive, dead or on the moon.
However, a new theory has now put forth the wild notion that Old Man Steve may have been a Skrull. It’s all based on the star-spangled Avenger making the choice to remain in the past with Peggy Carter and live out his intervening decades in peace. Which was a pretty reckless move by the established rules of time travel, and one that would have created an entirely new timeline.
As per the theory, the inconsistencies in his sudden reappearance in Avengers: Endgame‘s finale would be explained by a benevolent Skrull filling in and either acting on behalf of Nick Fury to nudge Sam Wilson closer towards the shield, or an evil one acting in their own self-interests in the buildup towards Secret Invasion by manipulating the very fabric of time to ensure it ended up in the hands of John Walker first via an alliance with Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
As ScreenRant explains:
The Skrulls are already part of the MCU and their existence is no secret, so much that they have been working closely with Captain Marvel and Nick Fury. Within the MCU timeline, Skrulls have been around since (at least) 1995, and by 2024 they were still close to Fury, so by 2023, the year Avengers: Endgame is set in, the Skrulls and Fury were working together. A Skrull posing as old Steve Rogers could have happened in two ways: either Fury, Carol Danvers, or someone else asked the Skrulls to do so, or some not-so-kind Skrulls with a future invasion in mind decided to do so as part of a bigger plan.
If Chris Evans does return to the MCU, it could be in Secret Invasion, where the Skrulls’ participation in Avengers: Endgame could be revealed and they could even continue posing as old man Steve if they still need it for their invasion.
It’s a certainly out-there and more than a little far-fetched, but it’s exactly the sort of shocking plot twist nobody would ever see coming.
