Still can’t sleep while wondering how in the hell Captain America could return and pass the shield to Sam in ‘Avengers: Endgame’? Well, Director Joe Russo has an answer.
Never in the history of cinema, was a movie made to tackle so many ifs and buts and hows and whys. Not only of the movie itself but of 21 previous movies. ‘Avengers Endgame’ was a masterpiece for that reason itself. The final movie to MCU Phase 1, 2, & 3 gave closure to everything in a satisfying manner and marked the inception of Phase 4 in an extremely positive way. How? With Captain America returning at the end of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ and passing on the shield to Sam. While that was a heartwarming moment and a happy ending, it was equally controversial and raised a lot of questions among the fans.
Joe Russo talks about the controversial plot hole in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ – How did Captain America return?
Highlights —
- ‘Avengers: Endgame’ ending witnessed Captain America passing the shield
- But how did Captain America return?
- Joe Russo didn’t have an answer.
- Joe Russo returned with a definite answer.
With so many theories already out there, the question still remains. If the original Captain America travelled back in time in an alternate reality, how could he be sitting there at the bench in this reality? Well, the director Joe Russo himself has now answered this.
‘Avengers: Endgame’ ending witnessed Captain America passing the shield
To undo what Thanos did in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, the Avengers figured out a way to travel back in time, in an alternate reality, and gather all the Infinity Stones. However, to keep those realities safe, the Infinity Stones were meant to be placed back in those realities at the exact time and moment they were taken away.
When Iron Man aka Tony Stark died for the world, and everyone was safe and back home, Captain America aka Steve Rogers took upon the task to travel back in time, place the Infinity Stones back, and return.
However, he didn’t return, at least as he was meant to, through the time machine in the same shape and health. The captain showed up as an old man, and passed the shield to Sam, marking an end to Steve Roger’s Captain America with ‘Avengers: Endgame’.
Steve was happier, older, and human. He revealed that after returning all the stones, he stayed back with Peggy, and spent his life with her, eventually getting old.
But how did Captain America return?
Time travel in movies has always been full of plot holes and vague theories – there’s no neat way to pull it off. However, the brains at Marvel managed to figure out a better way to time travel. It consisted of travelling back in alternate realities. Till the moment Steve Rogers showed up as the old man to pass on Captain America’s shield to Sam, everything was sorted in ‘Avengers: Endgame’. But that moment revealed a series of plot holes and questions that fans are asking till now.
If Captain America travelled back in time in an alternate reality, how did he show up as the old man in this reality?
If Captain America grew old with Peggy in this reality, then what about Peggy’s original husband and life?
There were so many questions on how he managed to show up there. However, the Avengers’ director Joe Russo and Anthony Russo have finally answered these questions.
Joe Russo didn’t have an answer
Post the ‘Avengers: Endgame’ release, Joe Russo and Anthony Russo acknowledged the question fans have been raising. In an interview dating back to 2019, Joe Russo told “Entertainment Weekly”:
“If Cap were to go back into the past and live there, he would create a branched reality. The question then becomes, how is he back in this reality to give the shield away? Interesting question, right?”
He continued:
“Maybe there’s a story there. There’s a lot of layers built into this movie. And we spent three years thinking through it. So it’s fun to talk about it and hopefully fill in holes for people so they understand what we’re thinking.”
However, the director didn’t make it simple for the fans. He didn’t have a definite answer.
But recently Joe Russo again took the efforts to answer how old Steve Rogers returned to pass the Captain America shield in ‘Avengers: Endgame’.
Joe Russo returned with a definite answer
In a recent appearance on ‘Lights Camera Barstool’, he explained:
“Cap would’ve had to have travelled back to the main timeline. That’s something that yes, he would’ve been in a branch reality and would’ve travelled back to the main timeline to give that shield to Sam. In our internal logic that we defined in the room, that was the choice that we made based on everything that happened. He would’ve been in a branch reality and then had to have shifted over to this. So jumped one to the other, right? Then handed the shield off.”
While it’s not the most acceptable explanation, considering the current state of MCU, this is the only logical possibility. Let’s hope Disney+ ‘ The Falcon and the Winter Soldier‘ dives deeper into this confusion.
Do you feel there should be a better explanation of how Captain America returned at the end of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ to pass the shield? What is your theory on this? Do let us know in the comments below.
