Last week, we heard that Chris Evans was rumored to cameo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, with Evans playing the older version of the character we saw in the finale of Avengers: Endgame. I was hoping this wasn’t true, as Rogers got a great send-off in Endgame and the emotion of the moment would only be undercut by his return. Plus, with the Disney Plus series set to be about the friction of his decision to choose Falcon as his replacement, him actually returning would only muddy the dramatic waters.
Now it seems that Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely agree with me. In an interview with ScreenRant, they explain that bringing him back would “ding” the movie:
“Christopher Markus: I also don’t want to. I love writing for Cap, I love Evans. But I really feel, much like Tony, we got them to a place where they don’t need to do it anymore. I’d hate to gin up something hokey to get them back.
Stephen McFeely: I do worry that if they do stuff like that, it’ll ding Endgame in the rearview mirror. This is such an important and such an interesting moment in movies, because a very successful studio just put their tools down.”
One of the most promising things about the MCU going forward is that they don’t seem to be resting on their laurels. There’s a wealth of new characters inbound, with The Eternals, in particular, introducing a whole new stable of superheroes. Even their existing properties are bringing new spins on old characters, with Jane Foster set to wield Mjolnir in Thor: Love and Thunder.
With all that and more in store, why not let old Steve Rogers rest in his peaceful suburban existence? If he absolutely does have to cameo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, make it a quick flashback rather than part of the ongoing plot.