While plenty of fans took issue with Captain America’s ending in Avengers: Endgame, other longtime viewers left the movie theater satisfied knowing that one of the world’s greatest heroes got to live out the life he so desperately craved. To be fair, the latest MCU film is chock-full of moments which are bound to satisfy some while downright frustrating others, but that’s not particularly surprising, especially in a movie that has more time travel shenanigans than Back to the Future.
Aside from a few logistical nightmares that arose following the film’s conclusion, some are wondering exactly how Captain America would have been able to return all the Infinity Stones to their respective branch realities. Those who have already seen Endgame might remember how Cap volunteered himself to hop from timeline to timeline in order to take back all six stones that the Avengers borrowed as part of the time heist. While the specific rules regarding time travel weren’t fully explained, during an alternate version of the Battle of New York, the Ancient One told Bruce Banner/Hulk that the Infinity Stones would need to be returned from where they originally came.
That sounds all fine and dandy, but it begs the question: how will Captain America return the Soul Stone? Unlike the other Infinity Stones – which are housed in ancient artifacts – this one was found on Vormir, and in order to obtain it, both Thanos and Hawkeye had to lose someone incredibly important to them. Recently, Avengers: Endgame screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely shed some light on the matter, though you might not be happy with what they had to say.
Speaking to CinemaBlend, the two likened it to a one-way transaction, with Markus explaining that “you put it back, but you don’t get anything in return. It’s not like a pawn shop.” Unfortunately, this means that, for all intents and purposes, Black Widow is all but gone from the MCU.
That being said, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Avengers: Endgame marks the last time Natalia Romanoff will be seen on the big screen. With a Black Widow movie in the works, some are speculating that the film will take place sometime in the past. And honestly, they’re probably right.
