The first of what is believed to be four character-focused trailers for Avengers: Doomsday leaked online earlier this week, and it finally confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets relating to the movie.
Spoilers ahead.
As we're sure most of you will be aware by now, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) will officially return to the MCU in Doomsday, and by all accounts, the former Captain America will take centre stage as one of the film's leads along with Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth).
The teaser didn't show very much, but it did include a fairly significant reveal: Steve and Peggy Carter had a child together in the alternate timeline that was created when The First Avenger returned the Infinity Stones and decided to remain in the past in Avengers: Endgame.
Rogers having a child is a concept that has been explored in the comics across several different timelines and realities. In the main Marvel Comics 616 continuity, Steve adopts the biological son of Arnim Zola, Ian Rogers, who ultimately adopts the Nomad persona. There's also the Ultimate Universe's Red Skull, and Sarah Rogers, aka Crusader, from an alternate What If? reality.
It remains to be seen how the son of Steve Rogers factors into the MCU's future, but @lakersspammer - who originally shared the leak - has posted the following.
"The scene from teaser 1 is from the mid-act, we then get a time jump [don’t know exact years] and we see a much older Steve with a beard and long hair [Nomad look from infinity war but BETTER]. His children are grown up (10-15, don’t know), and his son is named James. He will be an adult by the end of Secret Wars. Also, what I heard is that there is a Captain America Daughter Variant that has a black tactical suit with a triangular shaped shield with and an eagle in the middle."
This may sound a little far-fetched, but scooper MTTSH has added a bit more credibility to the rumor with the following.
This 2008 animated feature focused on the children of the defeated Avengers training to do battle with Ultron, and they were led by, you guessed it, James Rogers.
We also have an update on the third and fourth trailers. It seems teaser #3 will actually focus on Loki, while #4 will spotlight Doctor Doom. This has not been confirmed, but the same source was spot on about the previously leaked trailers, so there might just be something to it.
Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars were recently hit with significant delays, with Doomsday now set to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026, and Secret Wars positioned for December 17, 2027.
Both movies will be directed by the Russo brothers, who also make their MCU return after helming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
"Being able to create stories and explore characters within the Marvel Universe fulfilled a life-long dream of ours, and we discovered a powerful connection with audiences in each film that we made. We’re thrilled to collaborate once again with Kevin, Lou and the entire Marvel team to bring this epic adventure in storytelling to new and surprising places for both the fans and ourselves”, said The Russos in a statement after the SDCC panel.
Doomsday will star:
Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Lewis Pullman as Sentry, Florence Pugh as Yelena, Danny Ramirez as Falcon, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Sebastian Stan as Bucky, Winston Duke as M’Baku, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, James Marsden as Cyclops, Channing Tatum as Gambit, and Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent
Along with Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Letitia Wright as Black Panther, Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, and, of course, Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom.