In a podcast interview, Marvel Studios prop master Russell Bobbitt revealed why they changed Captain America’s shield design from Avengers: Endgame a Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Bobbitt said that the small changes to the star and white band were decided by Marvel as a sign of passing the torch.
My attitude was and the way I saw it, and the way I interpreted it was, ‘I’m handing over the torch. I’m passing the torch. I have made some improvements. I want you to run with this. It’s your shield, not mine. Now, that’s one person’s interpretation. Hopefully, many other people saw it the same way. But that’s in a nutshell what Marvel did.
Bobbitt mentions that once Kevin Feige was added to the project, it became obvious to make those small changes because of what was to come in the television series.
That motivation came from the director. He said to change it. Obviously Kevin Feige was on board when old Captain America puts down the shield, that’s when we introduced him. Knowing that there would be more to come as we saw in Falcon and the Winter Soldier.