[Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers forHawkeye]
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is built on the connections between every movie, and now, every Disney+ streaming series.Hawkeye, a show dedicated to theAvengers' most average superheroClint Barton (Jeremy Renner), has no shortage of links to the MCU and its history, from events depicted in the very firstAvengersfilm in 2012, to Ronin’s introduction inAvengers: Endgame, and to theBlack Widowfilm thatintroduced Yelena Belova(Florence Pugh). However, if these connections are so important in establishing a cinematic universe, why not link these various properties through its music?
The inconsistent employment of soundtrack composers has been a criticism against the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a while — see Every Frame A Painting’s detailed video essay “The Marvel Symphonic Universe.” Thankfully, the folks at Marvel have heard this call for a more connected musical universe. After Phase One, along with the continued use ofAlan Silvestri’sAvengers theme, the MCU has utilized composers likeBrian TylerandMichael Giacchinofor multiple films. Even in the latestInfinity WarandEndgame, Silvestri cited themes fromLudwig Göransson’sBlack Panther,Christophe Beck’sAnt-Man, andPinar Toprak’sCaptain Marvelscores.
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The attempt at musical consistency has also transferred over into the Disney+ shows, withHenry JackmanscoringFalcon and the Winter Soldierafter his work onCaptain America: The Winter SoldierandCivil War. Christophe Beck also makes the jump from the MCU films into the streaming shows, scoringWandavisionand now — alongsideMichael Paraskevas—Hawkeye. So whileHawkeyehas all of its explicit connections to the MCU that even casual fans can notice, the more keen MCU aficionado and score junkie will immediately notice some familiar notes in the latest episodes ofHawkeye.
Inepisode 4andepisode 5, Beck and Paraskevas reference music from previous MCU films, Alan Silvestri’s “Even For Your” fromInfinity Warand “Not Good” fromEndgame. While this segment of music was first associated with Thanos’ sacrifice of Gamora on Vormir for the Soul Stone, the theme is reutilized in Clint and Natasha’s desperate fight to keep one another from sacrificing themselves. Unfortunately for Clint, Natasha wins out tragically. InHawkeye, when Clint and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) are caught up in a brawl between Yelena and Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), Kate falls off the ledge of a building as Clint runs over to grab her, mimicking Natasha’s fall fromEndgame. Not only does this scene serve as a visual reference to reinforce Clint’s guilt for losing Natasha, but the musical segment from Silvestri’s score also helps establish the emotional stakes at the center of Clint and Kate’s relationship — that he is still grieving with guilt over Natasha’s death and refuses to take up another superhero partner. And in the following episode, Clint visits a New York City memorial to the original Avengers who saved the city. He talks to an absent Natasha, relaying his guilt, not only about her death but also for his deeds as Ronin.
It’s great to see Marvel finally use its various scores to enhance the connectivity between films and streaming shows. Sure, one might dismiss these musical cues as easy attempts at nostalgia. The “I Can Do This All Day” track from the in-universeRogers: The Musical, written by Tony Award-winningHairspraycomposersMarc ShaimanandScott Wittman, might be an example of that. But as in the past few episodes ofHawkeyeshow, using the music and scores from previous properties can dramatically enhance the story and character development in the MCU. With such an already expansive filmography, the MCU has more music to offer than just the Avengers theme, and hopefully, this trend of referencing even the more minor musical cues with significant emotional payoff continues in future Marvel projects.
