Following the successful debut of What If...? on Disney+, Hawkeye is set to be the next small-screen entry of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The series will showcase the return of Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton and the MCU debut of Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop. The bow-wielding pair will be joined by a stacked ensemble featuring the likes of Vera Farmiga, Fra Fee, Alaqua Cox, Tony Dalton, and Black Widow's Florence Pugh.
The exact plot details of the series are still being kept under wraps, but marketing confirmed that it will explore the consequences of Barton's past as Ronin during Avengers: Endgame.
In addition, Hawkeye will also feature the Barton family in New York during Christmas, and part of their reunion is watching a Broadway musical centered on the Avengers' first mission against Loki and the Chitauri. The Broadway play is entitled Rogers: The Musical, and it features several Avengers, such as Barton's Hawkeye.
Now, interesting details about the in-universe play have been unpacked in a new interview.
Hawkeye's Captain America Musical Origins Revealed
Hawkeye composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman sat down with Marvel to talk about how they developed the Captain America Musical number for the series.
The outlet revealed that the award-winning songwriting team created the number from Rogers: The Musical for the upcoming Disney+ series.
Wittman first shared that they received the news that they would work on the musical for Hawkeye during "the height of the pandemic," admitting that they took advantage of the unexpected circumstances to spend time familiarizing themselves with the MCU:
“We got this assignment during the height of the pandemic, so I had many hours, and I watched many of the movies. Much to my delight, I was really quite amazed at all the kind of sly fun that existed in them and I was hoping to get that into the song.”
Shaiman, on the other hand, revealed that his husband became his secret weapon with all the Marvel stuff, sharing a story about how he started "putting all the pieces together" by watching all the MCU entries with him. Shaiman also confirmed that "Tesseract" will be present in the lyrics:
“It seemed fate that I married a man who was a total Marvel nerd. So, I would go with him as a good husband to go watch all the movies, then we would usually sit in the parking lot of the movie theater, and I'd say what did I just see? How does that all work and who's who, and little by little I started putting all the pieces together. We were both lucky to have [my husband, because] he could just spit out whatever the words are like, you know, ‘'Tesseract.’ I never knew that Scott and I would write a song with the word ‘'Tesseract’ in it.”
Wittman pointed out that the focus of the musical number is the idea of "save the city." The veteran songwriter then shared how the pandemic helped in developing the concept of the musical:
“We were in the middle of the very worst part of the pandemic. When we were writing it was like when people would go and bang on pots and pans for the hospital workers, first responders. It all seemed to fit into the universe that we were writing to. So, the notion of ‘someone please save New York,’ was the battle cry of [the song].”
Shaiman then teased that "fantastic singers" would be part of the track while also expressing excitement about the fan reaction toward the musical:
“We've got some fantastic singers on this track, so I can't wait for people to hear. It's been so thrilling to watch those reaction videos to the trailers. We’ve worked on a lot of stuff that goes around the world, but man, there's nothing like the Marvel fans and how they look [for hidden details] and everything. It was just wonderful to see how happy they were about the musical and that they understand Marvel's sense of humor. They're just so looking forward to it. It's really thrilling.”
Hawkeye Highlights Broadway
Marvel Studios' transition to the small screen led to new songs crafted solely for the MCU. WandaVision spearheaded the movement by showcasing several musical pieces due to its sitcom approach, ultimately earning an Emmy award for "Agatha All Along."
Now, it seems that Hawkeye will follow in the footsteps of the Elizabeth Olsen-led series but on a much smaller scale. It remains to be seen how Rogers: The Musical will fit in the show's narrative, but it's reasonable to assume that it will play at least play a significant part.
Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman's comments suggest that the musical will be infused with fun elements while still being anchored by an inspirational tribute to the pandemic frontliners. The confirmation that "Tesseract" will be included in the lyrics alongside the musical's amusing preview from the trailer could hint that the song will be a cheeky retelling of the Battle of New York from 2012's The Avengers.
The trailer showed Clint not amused with the musical, so it will be interesting to hear his reaction during and after the show. On top of that, the response of Clint's kids would also be fascinating to hear.
It's reasonable to assume that the reason behind Clint's reaction is due to the fact that many people died during the Battle of New York, and making a musical out of it would cheapen their sacrifice. Still, the archer's non-approval could be reversed when he realizes that the play is made to celebrate the efforts of the Avengers and the frontliners that saved the city during Loki's chaotic attack.
Hawkeye is set to have a two-episode premiere on Disney+ on November 24, 2021.
