Hayley Atwell Reveals Last Minute Change to Peggy Carter’s Family In Captain America: The Winter Soldier

For a little while, one of the great mysteries of the Marvel Cinematic Universe involved Peggy Carter, specifically her family. Who had Peggy gone on to marry and have a family with after Steve Rogers was lost in World War II? The cancelled-too-soon Agent Carter left things on a cliffhanger of sorts in terms of Peggy’s relationship with Daniel Sousa (Enver Gjokaj), but the end of Avengers: Endgame ultimately saw Steve (Chris Evans) make his way back to Peggy while Sousa ended up in the present day on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. developments that seemingly answer the question of Peggy’s familial future. But now, Peggy Carter star Hayley Atwell reveals that a last-minute change while filming Captain America; The Winter Soldier helped keep that mystery alive.

Speaking with Collider, Atwell revealed that there had been a photo at older Peggy’s bedside with her husband and children featured in it, but that producer Louis de Esposito had it removed before they started filming because they didn’t know yet who Peggy had married.

“I remember when I was filming it, the prop master had put a framed photograph on Peggy’s bedside, of Peggy with her husband and her children, and Louis de Esposito ran over just before we started rolling going ‘take that out. We don’t know yet. We don’t want to limit ourselves by kind of suggesting this is who she’s married.’ And so, that was taken out. And I thought, ‘Okay, that’s really interesting,’” Atwell said. “And so that I think what they’re so good at, they’re so good at giving the audience what they want and exceeding the expectations. And I think that’s why they’re always aware of just feeding the amount of information that the audience needs to know, to keep engaged, but also delighting them and surprising them with new information.”

Hayley Atwell Didn’t Exactly Love the Doctor Strange 2 Version of Peggy Carter

While Agent Carter was cancelled after just two seasons, fans did get to see Atwell return as Peggy Carter in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — at least a version of the character. Atwell portrayed Earth-838’s Captain Carter — but while fans were excited to see the character, Atwell didn’t exactly love the characterization.

“It was definitely not, you know, the trajectory that I see for Peggy,” Atwell said last year. “I would definitely like her to have more to do.”

Will Hayley Atwell Return to the MCU?

After Atwell’s appearance as Captain Carter in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, fans have been curious to know if she will return in future MCU installments, but that’s something Atwell has cast doubt on, describing herself as merely a custodian of the character.

“It’s so funny, because, you know, I did that 10 years ago, and I love her because I love the people, and you never know [if there could be more],” Atwell told the site. “It depends on what Marvel, and what the audiences, want… I’m a custodian of her. Compared to the rest of my career and everything I’ve done or my stage work and doing Mission: Impossible now and all the diversity of roles I’ve played, and the diversity that I get to explore, and to be able to play more complex roles and villains and lots of different things — she is not mine anymore. She lives in the world of people that have taken her into their heart. And that’s beautiful. But it’s kind of like: yeah, you can’t control the impact a particular role has on the rest of the world.”

Atwell next appears in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, which premieres in theaters on July 12th. It’s the beginning of the end for the action-packed franchise, as Cruise reteams with longtime collaborator and filmmaker Christopher McQuarrie for more death-defying and breathtaking stunts. Hunt and allies Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg) attempt to track down a new weapon with the power to tear the world apart. Actors Hayley Atwell, Pom Klementieff, and Esai Morales join the cast for the latest installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise, which is set to wrap up with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two.