After Marvel's Latest Trailer, The MCU Has Referenced Steve Rogers Every Year Since Chris Evans' Endgame Retirement With 1 Obvious Exception

It’s been nearly six years since Chris Evans’ Captain America retired from the MCU in Avengers: Endgame, but the erstwhile Avengers leader has been referenced every year since his departure save for one notable exception. Steve Rogers’ MCU arc came to a satisfying conclusion in Avengers: Endgame when, for the first time, Steve capitalized on the opportunity to look out for number one and visit the 1940s to be with Peggy Carter. Returning to the present after having lived several decades, Rogers remains coy about his life with Peggy and bequeaths his shield and mantle to Sam Wilson.

Despite ostensibly bowing out of the MCU at this point, the Multiverse Saga has been replete with references to Cap, ensuring that his legacy endures to an extent that even exceeds that of Tony Stark. In fact, every year since has featured at least one nod to Steve Rogers, with the obvious exception being 2020 as the global pandemic prevented any MCU releases. Just a few weeks into 2025, this trend has continued within the latest MCU trailer.

The Daredevil: Born Again Trailer Has The MCU’s Latest Reference To Steve Rogers

Rogers: The Musical Appears Briefly In New York City

The first trailer for Daredevil: Born Again, which is due to premiere on March 4, was recently released and gives the first R-rated look at Daredevil’s return to the MCU. The show looks poised to explore Wilson Fisk’s political ascent to the Mayor of New York, with Daredevil apparently being driven back to vigilantism after retiring. SH๏τs of Wilson Fisk addressing the denizens of New York in Times Square feature a handful of Easter eggs, among which is an advertisement for a familiar MCU Broadway production: Rogers: The Musical.

The fictional-turned-real musical centers on the life of Steve Rogers leading up to his Endgame departure as seen from the perspective of an average citizen in the MCU, meaning it is rife with intentional inaccuracies.

Rogers: The Musical has popped up multiple times in most of the MCU’s New York-based movies and shows. After debuting in Hawkeye, where the mid-credits scene of the season finale featured the musical number “Save the City” in full, it would be developed into a real-life, one-act show that ran for a short time at the Hyperion Theater in Disney California Adventure in Anaheim. The fictional-turned-real musical centers on the life of Steve Rogers leading up to his Endgame departure as seen from the perspective of an average citizen in the MCU, meaning it is rife with intentional inaccuracies.

Every MCU Reference To Steve Rogers Since His Retirement In Avengers: Endgame

The Majority Of Mcu Releases Since Endgame Have Referenced Steve Rogers

Given that Steve Rogers was the leader of the Avengers, who have yet to reᴀssemble since Avengers: Endgame, it’s no surprise that his MCU legacy boasts such staying power. Even when movies like Spider-Man: Far From Home, the final movie of the Infinity Saga, focus heavily on Iron Man’s legacy, Rogers is still referenced in such moments as Happy Hogan’s ineffectual use of a shield to defend against a Stark drone (followed by the line “How does Cap do that?“). Minor references like these and larger ones in shows like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier now litter the MCU.

Reference To Steve Rogers In The Multiverse Saga
Year	MCU Installment	References
2021	The Falcon and the Winter Soldier	References throughout.
2021	Loki	Boastful Loki boasts about killing Captain America and claiming the Infinity Stones.
2021	Black Widow	References to Steve being on the run. Red Guardian claims to have fought Captain America.
2021	Eternals	The shields used in Kingo’s Bollywood sequence are inspired by Cap’s. Kingo has a replica of Cap’s original shield on his private jet.
2021	Hawkeye	The first appearance of Rogers: the Musical.
2021	Spider-Man: No Way Home	Another ad for Rogers: The Musical appears in New York City. The Statue of Liberty is being reconstructed to carry Cap’s iconic shield.
2022	Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness	Rogers: The Musical appears again in New York City. Captain Carter utters Steve’s catchphrase “I can do this all day.”
2022	Ms. Marvel	A Captain America statue appears at Avengers Con.
2022	She-Hulk: Attorney At Law	Jen grills Bruce about Captain America’s Sєx life.
2023	Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania	Scott Lang’s role in Captain America: Civil War is referenced, with Scott insisting that it would be crazy to fight Cap.
2023	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3	Cosmo tells Rocket “On your left, Captain,” a phrase ᴀssociated with Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson.
2023	Secret Invasion	Steve Rogers is among those whose DNA was acquired for the Harvest.
2024	ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine	ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool salutes Steve Rogers as Paradox attempts to recruit him to the MCU. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool mistakenly believes Johnny Storm is Steve Rogers.
2025	Daredevil: Born Again	Rogers: The Musical appears once again in New York.

While the most prolific reference to Steve Rogers is Rogers: The Musical – which stands to reason given the prevalence of New York-based MCU shows and movies – it’s hard to ignore the amount of Rogers references that even occur outside his hometown. These even extend to the far reaches of space in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and alternate universes in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This raises the question of why Marvel Studios is leaning so heavily into Rogers’ legacy – but the upcoming reappearance of Chris Evans might provide the answer.

Chris Evans’ Upcoming MCU Return Makes More Sense After All Of Marvel’s References

The MCU Appears To Be Gearing Up For A Villainous Rogers

While it makes sense that the MCU would continue to champion Steve Rogers’ legacy, it could just as easily refrain from keeping him at the forefront of audiences’ minds as the Multiverse Saga attempts to spotlight newer characters – like Sam Wilson’s Captain America, for example. Yet it was recently confirmed that Chris Evans will appear in Avengers: Doomsday, the first Avengers movie since Cap left the franchise in Avengers: Endgame. While his role has not been confirmed, Cap’s prolonged prevalence in the MCU is a big hint that Evans will be reprising this role.

This will most likely be as a Steve Rogers variant, given Avengers: Doomsday is expected to focus heavily on the multiverse and its potential destruction. The prevailing theory is that Evans will portray a villainous variant like Hydra Supreme. If so, then the continued spotlighting of Steve Rogers’ heroics might be an intentional move by Marvel Studios to intensify the impact of his villainous return. Given Captain America is more unambiguously virtuous than Tony Stark, it might even exceed the impact of Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Doctor Doom, whose MO draws a few parallels to Iron Man.