Marvel's Kevin Feige Had Strong Reaction to Captain America Musical

Hawkeye is filled with memorable moments, and many would agree that one of them is the broadway play Rogers: The Musical. The MCU series is Marvel Studios' fifth project on Disney+, and it follows the post-Avengers: Endgame story of Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton as he tries to escape his Ronin past and move on from Natasha Romanoff's death. 

Amidst all the hard-hitting action and Kate Bishop's introduction, Rogers: The Musical is one of the intriguing additions in Hawkeye. The broadway special was first introduced in the show's premiere episode, showcasing a tribute to 2012's Battle in New York when the Avengers first assembled. 

While the musical included confusing threads such as Ant-Man's inclusion, Rogers: The Musical still managed to deliver a fun tribute to the first Avengers film. Hawkeye composers Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman also unveiled the musical's surprising origin, revealing that they worked on it during the "height of the pandemic."

Hawkeye already reached its finish line, but a surprising post-credits scene fueled the discussion online. Instead of setting up more story beats for the MCU's future, Hawkeye showed a full musical number from Rogers: The Musical, earning mixed responses. 

Now, a new interview revealed the surprising reaction of Marvel Studios' head of the table. 

Kevin Feige Loves Rogers: The Musical

Hawkeye director Rhys Thomas sat down with Metro to talk about Rogers: The Musical and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige's strong reaction to it. 

Thomas first admitted that they only had time in Hawkeye to "go for that one song" before confirming that Feige "really enjoyed" it, and "he was just excited about the absurdity of doing it:"

"From the moment we started talking about it, [Kevin Feige] was just excited about the absurdity of doing it."

Thomas then mentioned that he initially "threw it out as a silly idea" when he first saw a mention of a Rogers musical in the show's script. When he presented the idea during a meeting, the Hawkeye director brought it up "with a bit of a wince," admitting that it was "stupid" and others wouldn't take it seriously. 

Despite that, Thomas revealed that Feige "seized on it right away:"

"I then immediately tried backtracking on it because I suddenly realized, 'Oh wait, hang on, I’ve just said I’m going to make a Steve Rogers musical,” and in the MCU, what the hell does that mean? How do we do it? What is it? It immediately terrified me. But in all fairness, Kevin held tight, and was like, 'No, we’re doing it.'"

Thomas then shared Feige's strong affirmation about the musical, saying: 

"It was your idea, you can’t back out on this."

The Mixed Reactions to Hawkeye's Post Credits Tag 

It is unknown if Feige is a fan of Broadway musicals, but Thomas' latest comments imply that he welcomes fresh ideas, thus further cementing that Marvel Studios is incorporating different topics and ideas in its Disney+ shows. 

In addition, the director's remark also echoes his previous sentiments about being worried about the end credits scene, with him saying that he was "slightly conflicted" about the mid-credits sequence and worried if it would "'disappoint'" fans.

This latest reveal from Thomas should serve as a positive sign for Marvel creatives moving forward because it would allow them to pitch a wide array of ideas not just for Disney+ projects but also for movies. In a way, this development presents many opportunities for filmmakers, writers, and Marvel Studios as a whole.

It's no secret that Marvel fans have mixed reactions toward Hawkeye's post-credits scene. One possible reason is that fans are used to the notion that the end credits tag usually sets up future stories in other projects. 

Despite that, the credits sequence is arguably a breath of fresh air, especially after a massive slate of Marvel projects in 2021. 

All episodes of Hawkeye are now streaming on Disney+.