Marvel Won't Tell Falcon & Winter Soldier Creator What Happened to Steve Rogers

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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier showrunner, Malcolm Spellman, says Marvel Studios won’t tell him what happened to Steve Rogers. In Avengers: Endgame, the original Cap passes the shield to Sam Wilson; having decided to stay in the past to live out his life with Peggy Carter after returning the Infinity Stones to their proper place in time. It remains unclear whether Steve’s life with Peggy occurred in the sacred timeline or another. Fans have assumed Steve lived in secret for years which is why instead of returning on the Quantum Realm platform he appeared aged and elderly on a bench nearby. Unfortunately, Endgame's time-travel logic and the directors’ explanation seem to contradict this.

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Joe and Anthony Russo have explained that they believe Steve’s time with Peggy was in another timeline. That said, Steve would’ve presumably used his remaining Pym Particles to return to whatever timeline he domesticated with Peggy after giving Sam the shield—which is why he isn’t in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. If the Russo brothers and Professor Hulk are wrong, Steve could either be hiding out in the main timeline or has since passed away. In episode 1 of the Disney+ series, Joaquin Torres mentions several theories regarding Steve’s whereabouts, including one where he resides on a secret moon base. While Sam laughs this off, the moment led many to believe the series might address what happened to Steve or, at the very least, was an indication that the writers had a vague idea.

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In an interview with Inverse, Spellman admitted he doesn’t even know what happened to Steve. The show’s creator said that Kevin Feige and Marvel won’t tell him anything about Steve's past, present, or future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe:

“I’ve got to tell you the truth, my friend. Marvel won’t tell me what happened to Steve, so we were able to write whatever we wanted because we don’t know. We’re wondering if Steve’s on the moon too, you know what I’m saying? That’s as good a guess as anything because they won’t tell me.”

Marvel likely loves leaving Steve’s fate open-ended, allowing infinite possibilities regarding the character’s future. In a multitude of ways, Avengers: Endgame awarded him a beautiful bookend, although reports have since surfaced that Chris Evans is in talks to reprise his role at some point. Regardless, not having him appear/addressing his whereabouts in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is for the best. While the show is obsessed with the legacy of Captain America, it’s also about moving forward. Steve’s presence would arguably undermine Sam's arc in The Falcon the Winter Soldier, setting him up as the new Cap in Captain America 4.

If Evans does return as Steve it’ll be outside of Captain America 4. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier implies that Sam and Bucky Barnes know what happened to Steve as they repeatedly say he’s “gone.” However, gone doesn’t necessarily mean dead. Steve could be hiding out in the main timeline or on the moon in preparation for Secret Avengers, Secret Invasion, or something else entirely. By not addressing the specifics of Steve’s absence and allowing the audience’s imagination to run wild, it leaves the door open to use, or not use, the character in any way the MCU sees fit. That said, it might be worth letting this ambiguity exist in perpetuity and have Evans return as an alternate Captain America from the multiverse.