Before The Fantastic Four: First Steps' release last summer, it was rumoured that Chris Evans would have a cameo role in the movie. That obviously didn't happen, though we've since heard that the Russo Brothers shot a scene meant to tee up Avengers: Doomsday.
For any number of reasons, the decision was made to swap it out for that big Doctor Doom tease in the Baxter Building. As a result, our first look at Steve Rogers' MCU return came in a teaser trailer first released last December.
Today, insider @MyTimeToShineH has shared a few additional details about original plans for Steve's appearance in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. As a reminder, it's previously been reported that he, Peggy Carter, and their child all now reside on Earth-828.
"The original post-credits scene for First Steps, which was removed, had the Fantastic Four visiting Steve at his cabin on their Earth and asking him for help with a multiversal problem/the Incursions," they write. "That scene now appears in Avengers: Doomsday."
There are still a lot of missing puzzle pieces, but the scooper would go on to claim that Evans will also appear in Avengers: Secret Wars, suggesting his story won't end with this surprise return.
Claims that Steve's actions in Avengers: Endgame—when he travelled back in time to get his happy ending with Peggy Carter—have doomed the Multiverse persist.
Either way, the Russo Brothers will need to figure out a way to explain how he ended up in the present day as an old man (and we still don't know what became of him after he showed up with a new shield in hand).
There's also a pretty compelling theory doing the rounds, suggesting that we already caught a glimpse of Steve in The Fantastic Four: First Steps' post-credits scene...
Avengers: Doomsday officially stars Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Mabel Cadena, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, and India Rose Hemsworth all make their Avengers franchise debuts.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, with Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum. The trades have pointed to Ryan Reynolds and Hayley Atwell also appearing in Avengers: Doomsday.
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron has also been enlisted to help.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.