The Marvel Cinematic Universe revealed a Captain America musical in Hawkeye, potentially answering a lingering Avengers: Endgame question. Hawkeye, one of Marvel’s upcoming Disney+ shows, brings Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) back to the MCU. In the series, Barton tries to enjoy the holidays in New York with his family, but the fallout from his past as Ronin in Endgame catches up to him. Sans his superhero friends, Hawkeye teams up with Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld), an MCU newcomer and a new arrow-shooting apprentice. Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) also joins the series after being told Hawkeye is responsible for Natasha Romanoff’s (Scarlett Johansson) death and taking up his trail in a Black Widow post-credit scene.
Hawkeye’s return is one of the exceptions in the MCU, as Endgame brought many other Avenger stories to a close. For example, Natasha Romanoff died retrieving the Soul Stone for the Avengers, sacrificing her life to save others. Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) also sacrificed himself, stealing the Infinity Stones from Thanos (Josh Brolin) and dying after snapping away the villain and his minions. Though he doesn’t die, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) decides to follow his own path in the MCU, choosing to fly off with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Likewise, Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) isn’t the same character he once was, sustaining a devastating arm injury after initially reversing Thanos’ deadly finger snap. Additionally, Captain America (Chris Evans) decides to live his life in the past after returning the Infinity Stones to their timelines, traveling back to the MCU as an older man to bequeath his shield to Falcon (Anthony Mackie) at the end of Endgame.
Marvel’s upcoming Hawkeye series introduces a Captain America musical, which may finally answer an Endgame question about Cap. Thus far, Captain America’s MCU ending remains a mystery. Though Cap chose to live his life in the past, it’s unclear whether or not he did so in another MCU timeline. However, Cap hates propaganda, making it odd that a musical would have permission to use his image. He’s also a humble man and would likely disapprove of a musical regardless. Thus, the Hawkeye musical may finally confirm that Captain America is living in another timeline.
Captain America Hates Propaganda
In Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve Rogers takes the MCU’s Super Soldier Serum and is initially used as a government lackey. In the film, Rogers begrudgingly takes the stage to sell Series E Defense Bonds, promising, “Each one you buy is a bullet in the barrel of your best guy’s gun.” He poses with babies, appears on posters, and performs on stage all across the United States. Though Rogers doesn’t despise his entire propaganda tour, he’s snapped back to reality when soldiers heckle him on stage. He eventually escapes his fate, rescuing Bucky (Sebastian Stan) and other soldiers caught by Hydra and instantly gaining the respect of his peers.
With Captain America’s history with propaganda, it’s doubtful he’d approve of Rogers: The Musical. In Hawkeye, the play appears to be a celebration of Captain America, with signage copying the style of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. One scene even shows actors singing and dancing as Rogers and the other Avengers on stage. However, Cap’s propaganda tour shows he’s done enough singing and dancing during his time in the army already. Additionally, Cap is a humble man who’s even proven to be worthy of Thor’s hammer in Endgame. Therefore, he wouldn’t be proud of all the killing and the destruction that the Avengers caused along their way. If Captain America has any protection over his image, he’d immediately put an end to the MCU musical.
Captain America’s Ending Is Still A Mystery In The MCU
Captain America’s ultimate ending remains one of the biggest lingering questions in the MCU. Endgame explains that Captain America traveled into the past to return the Infinity Stones and prevent dangerous timeline branches from flourishing. He then chose to live his life in the past with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), finally getting the dance the pair promised each other in The First Avenger. However, the details remain murky. According to Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, the Endgame writers, Cap lived his days out in the main MCU timeline. However, the Endgame directors, Anthony and Joe Russo, claim Rogers lived in a different timeline and then traveled back to the main MCU timeline to give away his shield. Falcon and the Winter Soldier adds another wrinkle to Cap’s story, with Torres (Danny Ramirez) even bringing up a rumor that Captain America secretly lives on the moon.
Regardless of the answer to Cap’s ending, it’s a problem for Rogers: The Musical. The Avengers likely kept the truth of Cap’s time-traveling journey to themselves, saving the public from entering into a panic over timeline shenanigans. Therefore, the musical doesn’t tell the actual ending of Cap. Without the correct details of Cap’s life, the play becomes more and more problematic in the MCU.
The Rogers Musical Proves Captain America Is In Another Timeline
In the end, Rogers: The Musical may answer the Endgame question, showing Cap lived his days in another timeline. When it comes down to it, Steve Rogers would never allow a play about his life to promote lies to the public, even if it was as catchy and popular as Hamilton. He’d never go to it; he’d never support it; he’d never stand by while it carried on. Rogers isn’t the type of Captain America to sit by silently. His history with the government’s propaganda has soured him on the idea, and the days of a singing and dancing Captain America are over. Since Rogers: The Musical seems to be going strong on Broadway in Hawkeye, with Barton even apparently taking his kids to see the show, it’s clear Cap isn’t around to stop it.
There is one way that Rogers: The Musical takes place in the same timeline as Cap, and that’s if Rogers is already dead. However, there’s evidence that he’s still alive. Though Rogers returns as an older man in Avengers: Endgame, he still appears somewhat spry thanks to his Super Soldier Serum. And the rumor in Falcon and the Winter Soldier about Cap living on the moon shows many believe Cap is still around and kicking. So if the Captain America musical from Hawkeye takes place in the same timeline as Cap, it’d have to be (literally) over his dead body.
Key Release Dates
- Eternals (2021)Release date: Nov 05, 2021
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)Release date: Dec 17, 2021
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: Mar 25, 2022
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
- The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
- Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
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