Joe and Anthony Russo are opening up about the dramatic ending of Avengers: Endgame, as they try to explain Captain America's confusing time travel arc.
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe's 22nd outing waved goodbye to the likes of Iron Man and Black Widow, Steve Rogers' exit from the Avengers roster was a last-minute surprise. After being tasked with returning the Infinity Stones to their original places in the timeline, Cap was supposed to arrive back in 2023 to continue his heroic escapades. Instead, Old Man Rogers appeared on a bench to hand over the mantle of Captain America to Falcon.
In an expansive Reddit AMA, one fan questioned the movie's time travel contradictions and asked how Rogers made it back to 2023 seemingly without the use of his Quantum Suit. The Redditor pointed out Bruce Banner's earlier confirmation that heading back in time would create an alternate timeline, meaning Rogers would've been in an alternate reality and unable to meet with Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in the "main" timeline.
"You are correct in that he would have had to have worn the quantum suit, using a Pym Particle to make the jump," the Russos' confirmed. "He's not wearing the suit on the bench, because that is not the exact moment to which he returned."
There's been a renewed interest in Chris Evans' Endgame swansong in recent weeks. Co-writer Christopher Markus seemingly confirmed Old Man Cap was alongside his younger self in Captain America: Civil War. Elsewhere, the Russos famously disagreed with Endgame's writers over the multiple timelines issue. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has refused to be drawn into the drama and brushed off Steve Roger's Endgame ending with a Star Wars quote.
While Endgame famously mocked plot holes in films likes Back to the Future and tried to avoid its own time travel paradoxes, the comments by the directors and writers may have backed them into a corner with Rogers' timeline trickery. Thankfully, the Russo Brothers have an answer for everything related to the end of Steve Rogers' MCU journey.
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Endgame stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Brie Larson, Paul Rudd, Don Cheadle, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira and Bradley Cooper, with Josh Brolin as Thanos. The film is now available on Digital HD and arrives Aug. 13 on Blu-ray and 4K UHD.