WARNING: Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Endgame.
When Chris Evans’ Cap was able to use Mjolnir in the Marvel epic, it was an instantly iconic moment.
Famously, only the most worthy people are able to use the weapon – and in Avengers: Age of Ultron, none of the other heroes aside from Thor were able to lift it.
Or were they?
Speaking in a new interview with Business Insider, Joe and Anthony Russo have again said that they believe Steve had been able to use it all along.
Back in Age of Ultron, we saw Thor momentarily unnerved when it seemed as if Steve had been able to nudge the hammer very slightly.
When it seemed as if he couldn’t lift it after all, the Russos think he actually could – but didn’t want to give himself away.
Joe Russo said: “I think in Age of Ultron he may have not picked up the hammer in order to not embarrass Thor.
“That’s the way we think of it,” Anthony added.
In the same interview, the brothers also addressed the issue of Loki being able to open up a new timeline when he scarpered with the Space Stone in 2012.
“The intent was that [Steve] was going to correct the past timelines at the point that the stones left.
“Loki, when he teleports away with the Time Stone, would create his own timeline.
“It gets very complicated, but it would be impossible for [Cap] to rectify the timeline unless he found Loki. The minute that Loki does something as dramatic as take the Space Stone, he creates a branched reality.”
Anthony added: “We’re dealing with this idea of multiverses and branched realities, so there are many realities.”
Avengers: Endgame continues its box office domination, and will win the US box office for a third straight weekend – despite competition from Detective Pikachu.
Avengers: Endgame is out now.