Marvel Cinematic Universe fans were sent into raptures when the first trailer for Disney Plus series Hawkeye dropped a couple of months back, and not just because it was the first time they’d seen footage from the Christmastime romp that partners Jeremy Renner’s world-weary Clint Barton up with Hailee Steinfeld’s exuberant protege Kate Bishop.
While that was definitely part of the reason the internet went into meltdown over Hawkeye, another contributing factor was the reveal of Rogers: The Musical. An in-canon stage show telling the life story of the former Avengers leader is about as meta as we’ve ever seen from the MCU, especially when Steve’s longtime ally Clint sets the plot of the six-episode series in motion when he receives an invitation to a performance.
Speaking to Variety at the Hawkeye red carpet premiere, lead writer and erstwhile showrunner Jonathan Igla revealed how he ended up settling on the concept of an all-singing, all-dancing MCU extravaganza.
“It was one of the most fun things. Every day on my commute I drove by with my fiancé who was also my second-in-command on the show, Lisa Clam. We would drive by a Hamilton billboard every morning on the way to the writers’ room, and one morning I just thought Rogers: The Musical. And we started talking about it and it expanded. One of the great things about working for Marvel is if you have an idea that starts out small or medium, it sort of started out medium I would say, and you pitch it to them and everyone is tickled by it and everyone is excited by it. They’re willing to pick it up and run with it and make it even bigger, and I’m so excited for people to see.”
It might not be a major presence in Hawkeye outside of the first episode, but MCU enthusiasts have been waiting with bated breath for Rogers: The Musical ever since they were first made aware of it, and it promises to be a hilarious highlight of the show’s early stages, with Clint’s reactions guaranteed to be a sight to behold.