**Warning: this article contains heavy spoilers concerning the ending of Marvel's Avengers: Endgame**
While the conclusion to Endgame left fans with much to speculate about, confusion still surrounds the fate of Captain America. Though they always move with Marvel-level secrecy, co-directors Joe and Anthony Russo spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the mystery behind Steve Rogers' closing scene.
In the end of the movie, Cap ventures out to align all of the dimensions by restoring the Infinity Stones and bringing Thor’s Mjölnir hammer back to the Dark World timeline. Though the trip was only supposed to last for a few seconds (in the main timeline), he doesn't immediately return, then reappears as an elderly man. While it's possible he simply went back to the past, the Russo brothers confirmed he went to live in a completely different universe entirely.
"If Cap were to go back into the past and live there, he would create a branched reality," said Joe. Additionally, they say Bucky Barnes' heavy farewell to Rogers indicates the former knew of the latter's departure. "He says, 'I'll miss you.' Clearly he knows something."
Still, the question of how Captain America returned to the main timeline remains unanswered, at least for now. "Maybe there’s a story there," Joe explained. "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."
Hopefully this enigma will be fully explored in the upcoming Disney+ series set around the Winter Soldier and Falcon. Since Marvel has confirmed the shows on the streaming service will be connected to the MCU, it is plausible that fans will get their questions answered.
