Marvel fans have long adored Chris Evans' take on the iconic superhero Captain America.
But now he's at the end of the line with his movie contract, what does that actually mean
for the MCU?
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, I'm Jan and in this video I'll be explaining what the events
of Endgame mean for the future of Captain America, the real reason behind Cap's choice
in the movie, and why we may get a Steve Rogers spin-off.
My Marvel giveaway is still running, so subscribe and leave a comment about Captain America
for a chance to win.
Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen the movie yet.
At the end of Endgame, Steve Rogers goes on one final mission: to place the Infinity Stones
back in their original locations.
Steve returns, but not quite as expected, and we discover he's made two major decisions
that will alter the future of the MCU.
First during his trip to the past, he married his long-lost love Peggy Carter.
And then he returned as Old Man Steve, bringing with him a new Captain America shield which
he gave to Sam Wilson.
Sam accepts the shield, signalling that he'll become the new Captain America.
This decision has left some fans surprised as they were expecting Bucky to be Steve's
successor as he's been around longer than Falcon in the MCU, and the friendship between
Steve and Bucky has been given particular prominence in the Captain America movies.
"I can get by on my own.
I'm with you to the end of the line, pal."
"I'm not gonna fight you.
You're my friend.
You're my mission!
Then finish it.
Because I'm with you to the end of the line."
In fact, before Steve leaves the current timeline to return the Infinity Stones, he has a heartfelt
goodbye with Bucky whose words 'I'm gonna miss you, buddy' show that he knows Steve
isn't going to come back the same man as he left.
Steve also tells Bucky not to do anything stupid until he gets back and Bucky replies
"How can I?
You're taking all the stupid with you", which is a sweet call-back to this moment in Cap's
first movie when Bucky left Steve to go to war.
"Don't do anything stupid until I get back.
How can I?
You're taking all the stupid with you."
Like Sam, Bucky has been Captain America in the comics, and given how the passing of the
shield from Steve to Bucky has been foreshadowed many times in the MCU, some fans have been
upset that Steve didn't give him the shield in the end.
Now, Bucky may still become Captain America in the future, but there are several good
reasons why now isn't necessarily the right time for him.
First of all, we need to remember that Bucky was only recently rehabilitated when he was
taken to Wakanda at the end of Civil War to have the HYDRA programming removed from his
brain.
This was successful, but Bucky still had to wait through a recovery period during which
he became the White Wolf in Wakanda.
And although he fought alongside the Avengers in Infinity War, Bucky may not be ready yet
for something like becoming Captain America.
In fact, during Civil War, Bucky reveals the doubts he has about himself to Steve:
"I don't know if I'm worth all this, Steve.
What you did all those years...
It wasn't you.
You didn't have a choice.
I know.
But I did it."
And there is the problem.
Before the events of Infinity War and Endgame, Bucky was a wanted assassin and even if his
crimes have been forgiven after he stood with the Avengers against Thanos, the powers-that-be,
for example, Thunderbolt Ross might try and stand in the way of someone with such a troubled
history taking up the mantle of Captain America.
Especially given that Bucky killed Tony Stark's parents; after all, it was Tony's father Howard
who created the original Captain America shield.
Perhaps more importantly though, there's a good chance that Steve just doesn't want to
place the weight and responsibility of being Captain America on Bucky's shoulders at this
point in time given all his friend has been through.
In any case, Bucky seems at ease with how Steve left him at the end of Avengers: Endgame.
And it's quite possible that Bucky had a conversation with Steve off-screen before he left to travel
back in time.
Indeed, the Russos have confirmed that when the pair say goodbye to each other and Bucky
"says I'll miss you.'
Clearly [Bucky] knows something."
Cap and Bucky's possible off-screen conversation could explain why Bucky tells Sam to "go ahead"
and talk to Steve after he returns from the past.
In fact, after Steve tells Sam to try on the shield, Sam looks back to Bucky as if to check
with him, and Bucky nods back in approval, as if he already knew this moment was coming.
So, when Sam accepts the shield and says he'll do his best and Steve replies "that's why
it's yours", it's a subtle indication that Sam has the right mind-set to become the new
Captain America.
The passing of the mantle from Steve to Sam was cleverly foreshadowed several times during
Endgame.
When Steve is acting as a counsellor to help people work through how they feel about the
world after Thanos's snap, it parallels nicely with Sam's work as a PTSD counsellor for veterans
in The Winter Soldier film.
Then later, as Cap was about to make his solo last stand against Thanos, he hears Sam's
voice through his earpiece saying 'on your left', as all the dusted heroes return for
that epic Avengers Assemble moment.
Sam's "on your left" is a lovely hat-tip to Steve's first words to him in The Winter Soldier
movie, and again, foreshadows how Steve and Sam will later swap roles at the close of
Endgame.
Likewise, there's more to Cap and Sam's final conversation than first meets the eye.
When Steve tells Sam to try on the shield, then asks him how it feels, Sam says, "Like
it's someone else's."
Steve's reply that "it isn't" not only confirms that he sees Sam as the new Captain, but it's
also a reminder that this isn't Steve's original shield, because that one was broken when Thanos
smashed it during the final battle in Endgame.
This new shield would seem to be one that Steve has brought to Sam from the alternate
reality that he lived in when he went back to live with Peggy.
When Steve decided to return to the present timeline, he knew that a Captain America shield
didn't exist any longer.
So, it's possible that in his alternate reality, Steve asked Peggy, Howard Stark or even Tony
to get him a shield for Sam.
Another possibility is that there was a Falcon who was Captain America in Steve's alternate
reality and now Steve is bringing our present-day Sam that other Falcon's shield.
Falcon adopting Cap's title also nods back to the comics, where it's happened a few times.
The most interesting example that relates to Avengers: Endgame is from 2014 when Steve
passed on the shield to Sam after he'd lost his super-soldier powers and turned into an
old man.
So, what does Sam taking the Captain America shield mean for Anthony Mackie and Sebastian
Stan's new TV show on Disney+?
Well, as their series is called Falcon And Winter Soldier, it seems like Sam might need
a little while to work himself up to being Captain America and all that the title entails.
Likewise, that would also give fans time to adjust to a new actor stepping into Chris
Evans's super-shoes.
As for Bucky fans, they may still see the Winter Soldier pick up the shield at some
point during the show[, and possibly even share the role with Sam].
After all, Sebastian Stan did tell fans back in 2016 at Nerdist's Civil War movie marathon
that Marvel had told him that "eventually [Bucky was] gonna become Captain America".
Another interesting possibility that the introduction of alternate timelines has brought to the
MCU is that, although Steve Rogers' story in Endgame did wrap up his character arc nicely,
there's still potential for future films or TV shows about Steve and Peggy's alternate
life together.
In fact, the Russos have confirmed that when Steve went back in time he created "a branched
reality" and they said there's a possible story to be told about what Steve did in that
reality and how he ended up coming back to give the shield to Falcon.
I'm sure many would love to see a Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter movie, but right now Chris
Evans's contract has ended and he's doubtless looking forward to playing a wider variety
of roles going forward.
He's also talked about wanting to leave the MCU on a high, or to use his own words, 'You
want to get off the train before they push you off'.
Still, it's possible Evans might entertain coming back at some point in the future and
maybe the upcoming Disney+ shows could be something he'd consider.
For example, one of the new Marvel shows is an animated "What If?" series and the very
first episode will explore what would have happened if Peggy Carter had been given the
Super-Soldier Serum in place of Steve who, instead, will eventually join World War 2
using a metal suit created by Howard Stark.
According to reports, the "What If?" series will feature the voices of actors from the
MCU movies.
So, hopefully, at the very least, we'll get to hear Hayley Atwell and Chris Evans as the
voices of Peggy and Steve in that show.
As for the longer term, well, there's plenty of actors who've eventually gone back to roles
that they thought they'd left way in their past.
So, never say never!
So, how do you feel about Falcon becoming Captain America?
And would you like to see Chris Evans return to the MCU?
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Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!