Looks like the curator/composers ofRogers: The Musicaltheme that played in the first episode of the Disney+ seriesHawkeyewants to stretch that number from a small stint to an entire Broadway production. In a discussion withEntertainment Weekly, when asked if they would ever consider doing a Marvel musical, songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman took no time admitting that they would love to. Wittman said,
“Of course! Get people to start calling Kevin on the phone and tell him.”
The songwriters revealed that they both had a different approach towards the concept of a musical number, which was a first for MCU; however, Shaiman was just excited to impress his husband who apparently is a huge Marvel fan.
“We thought, this is a crazy idea and we definitely have to do it."- Shaiman
Rogers: The Musical, though ran merely for five minutes in the first episode of Marvel Studios’Hawkeye, but this fictional retelling of the Battle of New York within the Marvel Cinematic Universe had a defining impact on the life of people in theMCU post-Endgame. The idea of having this flawed script (wherein Ant-Man was added into Battle of New York) presented in a musical format was to show how people in Marvel’s shared cinematic universe are perceiving the events happening around them and how they are adjusting to this new world comprising superhumans living amongst them. The number shows how these superhero stories have become like mythical legends as people have passed a blend of reality and hearsay over the years to future generations. It’s a reflection of how people are living and witnessing the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Wittman explains this in a single sentence and he seems quite on point as he says,
“They [the people within the MCU’s fictional setting] don’t go to the movies; They’re living it.”
Rogers: The Musicalalso putsClint Barton in this strange and unknown place within the MCU post-Endgame. The show clearly misinterprets the actual events and takes some liberty to mold those events for the sake of entertainment which makes Barton uncomfortable and disinterested. It truly reflects the change and gap between the present and the time when Avengers first came into inception, while also making Barton skeptical about his role in this new era.
“It’s important for the Hawkeye character to watch that event that was such a seminal part of his life and feel slightly uncomfortable like, ‘what have they done to my world?” -Wittman.
Rogers: The Musicalacted as an anti-thesis of people’s memories about the Chitauri invasion, while we saw the actualwitnessing of the battle through a young Kate Bishopwho loses her father in that fight the same day. On one hand, the event becomes something of an entertaining battle sequence through the song, while it becomes an inspiration to Kate. Though the musical stays on-screen in form of one song, it has its own impact on the overall story.
You can stream the song featured inRogers: The MusicaltitledSave The Cityon YouTube which songwriters Wittman and Shaiman call Act I of their desired full-length Marvel musical. It may never see the light but writers do have a lot of stuff in mind on how they can stretch this song into something bigger.
There are a million things that you could create in a Marvel musical, especially with Steve Rogers. The fact that he exists in the ’40s as well would allow us to write a whole lot of different genres, so the whole Marvel story would take place over decades. It would be a thrill to get to do that. But for now, we’re just extremely excited about the way the show came out.
Would you like to witness an extended, long-form musical feature based onRogers: The Musical? Tell us in the comments!
