There have been few movies in history with as many moving pieces as Avengers: Endgame, which not only had to tell the second half of the story that began in Infinity War, but also tie up the narrative loose ends from almost two dozen films into a satisfying conclusion to the MCU’s Infinity Saga, without forgetting to lay the foundations for what was to come in Phase Four and beyond.
Both a monumental achievement in filmmaking and the highest-grossing movie ever made, whenever the studio get around to their next major crossover event, the expectations are going to be through the roof. One of the first major changes to the mythology that will be getting paid off though is Sam Wilson’s transition into becoming the new Captain America, which will drive the plot of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’s first season.
Not only did it allow Chris Evans to bow out gracefully from his career-defining role, but it also gave Steve Rogers the happy ending with Peggy Carter that he always wanted and deserved, which was fitting for a character that had always been regarded as the heart and soul of the entire franchise.
However, a lot of fans have wanted to see what happened to the First Avenger during his adventures through time when returning the Infinity Stones, including the look on the Red Skull’s face when his arch nemesis shows up on Vormir out of the blue after almost 80 years and simply hands him back the Soul Stone, and Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo have admitted that they’d love to see it happen, too.
“It would be a great story to tell, no question. I don’t know whether it needs to be told, but it would be a great story to tell, and we’d love to tell it, but I think there are other stories to be told now.”
With both the Russos and Chris Evans having moved on from their time in the MCU, it seems unlikely that we’ll see Cap’s adventures in time travel anytime soon. However, spinning off one of Avengers: Endgame‘s most heavily-discussed but never seen subplots could make for a phenomenal episode of upcoming animated series What If…? in the future should Marvel feel the need to scratch that storytelling itch.