Did an older Steve Rogers attend Peggy Carter's funeral in Captain America: Civil War? Avengers: Endgame revealed that Captain America used the team's time-traveling technology to return to the past and live his life alongside his beloved Peggy.
Because Agent Carter passed away in Captain America: Civil War and the elderly Steve Rogers appears at the conclusion of Endgame, we know that Steve outlived Peggy twice. The young Steve Rogers attended Peggy Carter's funeral, but is it possible that his older version was also there? Some fans are claiming that it is possible to spot the old Captain America as a pallbearer at Peggy's funeral.
The alleged elderly Captain America (circled below) only appears in a single shot and his face is never visible. His hair is surprisingly similar to the elderly Steve Rogers that appears in Avengers: Endgame, and he stands on the opposite corner from the young Captain America, potentially hiding from his younger self.
While it's more likely that the similarities are just a coincidence, rather than a planned Easter egg, it is possible that this connection could become canonical. Previously, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has retconned fan theories and incorporated them into the MCU, like young Peter Parker's cameo in Iron Man 2. But does it make sense that the older Steve Rogers would be at the funeral at all?
The answer to this question depends on how you understand time travel in the MCU. This relatively simple fan theory is complicated by the fact that no one seems to agree about how time travel works in Endgame. Does Steve Rogers live in an alternate timeline with Peggy Carter, or would he stay in the same timeline as his younger self? While the Russo brothers, who directed the film, claim that Steve lived in a new reality, writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely believe that the older Steve lived secretly alongside his younger counterpart in the same timeline. Presumably, it would only be possible for the elderly Steve Rogers to carry Peggy Carter's coffin alongside his younger self if Markus and McFeely's understanding of time travel was correct.
While one of the pallbearers does look like the elderly Steve Rogers, it seems more likely that this is a coincidence, rather than a planned Easter egg. Additionally, the appearance at the funeral only makes sense if both Steve Rogers live in the same timeline, something heavily disputed. But with Marvel, you never know: this small coincidence could have larger implications for how to understand time travel in the MCU.
