We Finally Know How Old Captain America Was At The End Of Avengers: Endgame

While Black Widow and Iron Man’s stories concluded tragically earlier this year in Avengers: Endgame (although we’ll be looking back at an untold chapter of the former’s life next year), Captain America received a happy ending once Thanos and his forces were defeated. After dropping off the Infinity Stones and Thor’s hammer Mjolnir to their respective points in time, Steve Rogers decided to live out the rest of his life with Peggy Carter in the past, re-appearing in the present day as an elderly man.

This proved to be a great decision, as Steve Rogers told Sam Wilson that he’d lived a beautiful life. But just how old was Steve when he passed on his star-spangled shield to Sam in Avengers: Endgame’s final minutes? That question has finally been officially answered: 106.

Jen Underdahl, Avengers: Endgame’s visual effects producer, recently sat down with WIRED to discuss the movie’s most impressive visual effects, including making Chris Evans look like he was decades older. This involved digitally shrinking the actor’s neck, shoulders and overall profile, as well as having an older body double perform the same scene, to achieve, as Underdahl put it, “that 106-year-old super soldier look.”

Let’s use this information to crunch some numbers. For those who don’t study MCU history closely, Steve Rogers was born in 1918, meaning he was 27 years old when he crash-landed Red Skull’s plane in the Arctic in 1945. After being unfrozen at the end of Captain America: The First Avenger, i.e. 2011, he resumed aging normally, placing him at around 39 years old during the majority of Avengers: Endgame, which takes place in 2023.

We know from Avengers: Endgame co-writer Stephen McFeely that Steve Rogers reunited with Peggy Carter in 1948, so he spent 67 years with her, bringing us to 2015, close to the time she died in Captain America: Civil War. We can presume from there that after saying goodbye to his wife and likely attending her funeral, he used his leftover Pym Particles to return to 2023 and pass of his shield to Sam.

It’s worth noting that there have been contradictory claims from Stephen McFeely and his writing partner, Christopher Markus, and directors Joe and Anthony Russo, about Captain America’s time travel at the end of Avengers: Endgame. The former duo say that Steve Rogers traveled back to be with Peggy in the main MCU timeline, while the latter duo say that Steve’s time with Peggy was spent in an alternate timeline, and then he returned to the main timeline.

Whatever the explanation is, I think we can all agree that Steve Rogers looks damn good for 106. That said, if you were looking forward to seeing more of Old Steve, you’re out of luck, as the Russos confirmed that Chris Evans has retired from the role. Maybe years from now Evans will change his mind and reprise Steve in some capacity, but as things stand now, Cap’s MCU book has been shut.

That said, the MCU isn’t going anywhere. As I mentioned earlier, it’ll pick back up again on the big screen with Black Widow on May 1, 2020, followed by The Eternals on November 6, 2020. Check out our comprehensive guide about what other cinematic MCU entries are on the way, and also be on the lookout for the franchise’s Disney+ shows, including the recently announced Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight and She-Hulk.