So, you agree. Unilaterally deciding that only you are allowed to go back in time to disrupt the life of a woman who was moving on, carrying YEARS of trauma that she could not possibly begin to fathom, while abandoning all your best friends and found family who DO need you, is a villainous thing to do? That’s what I heard Anthony Russo say about Steve Roger going back into the past to be with Peggy Carter in Avengers: Endgame. Okay, he didn’t literally say that… But he did say that Steve Rogers’ decision to go back to the past and stay there is what causes Avengers: Doomsday to happen. And is that really a surprise? As Tony Stark would tell you, “When you mess with time, it tends to mess back.” And Steve’s comuppence for his selfish, and dare I say evil, choices might just cost everyone dearly. You can listen to what Anthony Russo shared about Steve Rogers’ decisions causing Avengers: Doomsday below.
Here’s What Causes Avengers: Doomsday to Happen
The Avengers: Endgame rerelease, Avengers Endgame: Encore, adds a brand-new scene that changes the ending of Avengers: Endgame and ties it into Avengers: Doomsday. In it, we see Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter’s so-called idyllic dance interrupted by a knock on the door. It’s Loki, and he has bad news. Steve and Peggy are in danger, and Loki thinks he can help them. Alas, it seems like Steve’s decision to head back to the past and mess with time will FINALLY have some consequences.
When asked if there’s a character choice that means something different in Avengers: Endgame than it did before, Anthony Russo shares—“There’s certainly a pivotal moment in that film, in the end, where the moment has a different meaning. We play one beat past where Steve Rogers’ story ended with Peggy Carter, and in that moment, that’s where Doomsday is born.”
Although Russo isn’t EXPLICITLY clear, it certainly sounds like he’s saying Avengers: Doomsday happens because Steve Rogers is in the past, in a time where he shouldn’t be. That Steve’s choice to return to the past set the events necessary to get from Avengers: Endgame to Avengers: Doomsday into play. In short, if Steve Rogers weren’t there dancing with Peggy Carter, Avengers: Doomsday wouldn’t be happening.
Nerdist Take: Steve Rogers’ Decision to Go Back to the Past in Avengers: Endgame Was an Evil Choice, and We Hope Avengers: Doomsday Makes That Clear
Why wasn’t Thor allowed to go back in time to spend more time with his mother? Why couldn’t any of the other heroes choose what places in time they wanted to inhabit? Why is it that if Steve Rogers’ Avengers: Endgame decision was taken out of context, it would probably be seen as the story of a villain, not a hero? Well, that’s all because Steve Rogers going back to the past to be with Peggy Carter was always an evil set of decisions, ones that should obviously have consequences, but the fallout of which was handwaved away in order to accommodate the optics of an idea that didn’t really make much sense.
I’m not saying I’m holding out much hope here, but I think it makes perfect sense that Steve Rogers’ decision to go back in time in Avengers: Endgame messed up time enough to cause Avengers: Doomsday. You can’t just be hopping around through time willy-nilly because you want to. That’s literally always the point.
Avengers: Doomsday releases in theaters on December 18, 2026. Tickets are available now.