Chris Evans is returning as Captain America in the Russo Brothers' next MCU film, but he will be without one traditional element of his character. Joe and Anthony Russo began directing MCU films alongside Evans, starting with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and continued with Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and now the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. The directors are well familiar with Steve Rogers at this point, but their next movie with him will abandon a mainstay that's been present in nearly two decades of live-action Captain America MCU appearances.
Ever since Evans debuted as Captain America in 2011's Captain America: The First Avenger, the hero has always been accompanied by an iteration of his iconic shield. The star-spangled shield has been a symbol of Captain America for decades, and there's never been a live-action project that Rogers has been seen without a trusty shield in the MCU.
That's about to change, as it appears that Avengers: Doomsday will be Evans' first appearance as Rogers without the shield. After the events of Avengers: Endgame, an older Rogers gifted Sam Wilson his vibranium shield, passing the torch to a new Captain America. However, Avengers: Doomsday will feature a variant version of Rogers, and this one hasn't been shown with his vibranium shield.
After Rogers took the Super Soldier serum and underwent his transformation in Captain America: The First Avenger, he was given a basic shield by the army, which was eventually replaced by an upgraded version made of rare vibranium by Howard Stark.
Even in Evans' cameo appearances, like in Spider-Man: Homecoming or Thor: The Dark World, he has always appeared bearing his red, white, and blue shield
For 15 years of MCU movies, Rogers has used a shield as his primary weapon. The vibranium shield became a core component of Rogers' fighting style, and complemented the hero's super strength and endurance.
The shield itself is also integral to the Captain America persona and was the subject of much debate in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which dealt with the aftermath of Rogers' decision to pass the shield to Sam Wilson.
While Rogers was most often seen with the circular, red, white, and blue vibranium shield, there were times his character had to turn to other shields instead. At the end of Captain America: Civil War, Rogers left the shield with Tony Stark after defeating him in battle. Heading into Avengers: Infinity War, this left Rogers shield-less for a time, until the Wakandans outfitted him with a new gauntlet shield that he used in the battle against Thanos' armies in Wakanda.
Rogers regained the vibranium shield from Stark in Avengers: Endgame and used it in the final fight against Thanos. During this battle, it was destroyed in a fight against Thanos, who used his mighty double-edged sword to break through the vibranium.
This marks the last time Rogers was seen with the shield, as he later went back through time to replace the Infinity Stones and picked up a shield from a different timeline, which he passed on to Wilson at the end of Avengers: Endgame.
The only other instance in which Captain America has appeared in an MCU project without a shield is in What If...?. In this alternate timeline, Rogers uses the Hydra Stomper as his weapon of choice because the shield is given to Captain Carter instead. However, Avengers: Doomsday will seemingly be the first live-action MCU project in 15 years to depict Rogers without his iconic shield.
This doesn't mean Rogers will be weaponless in Avengers: Doomsday. At the end of Avengers: Endgame, the Russos pulled off one of the MCU's most iconic moments by proving Rogers worthy of wielding Thor's hammer, Mjolnir. That moment will be followed up in Avengers: Doomsday, as trailers have shown that this new variant of Rogers can still wield Mjolnir, summoning it from Thor's hands, confirming to his Avengers colleagues that he is the real Rogers.
Thor had been holding onto both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker after Thor: Love and Thunder, but it appears that Mjolnir will find a new home in the hands of Rogers in Avengers: Doomsday, as Evans' character has been consistently shown bearing the hammer instead of his shield in promotional materials for the film.
Rogers has been shown without his star-spangled uniform and shield in every Avengers: Doomsday tease so far. While the character's Doomsday teaser trailer showed that Rogers still has his Captain America uniform in a box, the shield is nowhere to be seen, which would mark the first time Evans hasn't used a shield in a live-action MCU project.
Fans will find out whether Rogers is reunited with his shield when Avengers: Doomsday releases in theaters on December 18, 2026. Evans returns to the MCU alongside fellow Avengers cast members Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, and more.
Avengers: Doomsday Breaks Captain America Tradition, But There's a Good Reason
Avengers: Doomsday may mark the first time Steve Rogers has been in an MCU live-action project without his trusty shield, but the vibranium artifact is still very much active in the MCU in the hands of the new Captain America, Sam Wilson.
Rogers gifted Wilson the shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame, so having him take it back in Avengers: Doomsday could cheapen the impact of that gesture and also cause confusion over who the "real" Captain America is in the MCU. Marvel Studios has had to put in some work to establish Mackie's character as the new Captain America since Endgame, dedicating The Falcon and the Winter Soldier to debating Rogers' legacy, and then giving Mackie his first solo film with the new mantle in Captain America: Brave New World.
To avoid any confusion about who should carry the shield, the Russo Brothers instead seem to be crafting a new persona for Steve Rogers, whose primary weapon is now Mjolnir in the MCU. Thor has both Stormbreaker and Mjolnir in his possession in Avengers: Doomsday, and the Avenger seems more than happy to allow his fellow worthy comrade to carry the hammer while he utilizes Stormbreaker, which allows Rogers to still be a core part of the fight even without his usual shield.
