'Hawkeye's' Place In The MCU Timeline Has Been Confirmed
Clearly, Star Wars isn't the only franchise that likes to jump around with its timeline. Since its announcement, Marvel fans have been speculating about when Hawkeye, the latest comic book series on Disney+ starring the titular archer, would be taking place chronologically in the current phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
When photos of one of the series' sets during filming were first leaked to the internet, many fans noticed that Clint Barton, Kate Bishop and Lucky (aka Pizza Dog) were in New York City's Chinatown district. In of the photo's backgrounds, a store could be seen with a sign in its window reading "Happy New Year 2025", along with text calling it a "Year of the Snake" on the Chinese Zodiac. With this particular detail, many people online assumed that the series would be taking place in 2025; two years after the "present day" seen in Avengers: Endgame.
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However, once the first trailer for the series debuted, the show's premise and setting during the holiday season were officially revealed to the public. This along with the aforementioned sign made it easy to guess that the events of the series would actually be taking place during December 2024 and right on the cusp of the new year. And sure enough, one of the show's directors confirmed this on social media.
Prior to the debut of Hawkeye's third episode, "Echoes", Rhys Thomas, who serves as one of the show's directors, having directed its first two episodes, took to Twitter and clarified exactly when the series is set in the timeline of the MCU. In the tweet (which can be seen below), Thomas confirms that Hawkeye does take place near the tail end of 2024, just one year after the events of Avengers: Endgame. "For a period of time, we were going to set it two years out - which would make it 2025 - hence me messing with your minds about the timeline. But it's [one] year out," Thomas tweeted.
With this in mind, it stands to reason that the MCU is focusing primarily on showing the aftermath of the massive film franchise's first three phases (now dubbed the Infinity Saga) and their effects on its many characters. Aside from Barton and Bishop, there is a whole plethora of side and supporting characters whose potential for stories and growth are still largely untapped. Having faced their own individual traumas and hardships in the light of constant harrowing threats, Hawkeye feels like a testing ground for even more personal, character driven narratives as the MCU continues to expand and evolve.
With Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff giving their lives to defeat Thanos, Steve Rodgers going back in time to be with his love, Peggy Carter, and Clint Barton desperately trying to stay retired and be a family man, the MCU is currently replenishing their roster of Avengers. In addition to Kate Bishop poised to take over the mantle of Hawkeye and Sam Wilson taking up the shield of Captain America, three more characters have recently been introduced into the MCU who could be the heroes of the future. Tommy and Billy Maximoff were introduced in WandaVision, setting the stage for them to assume their comic identities of Speed and Wiccan, respectively. The grandson of super soldier Isaiah Bradley, Eli, also seems to have been subtly introduced in Falcon and the Winter Soldier to eventually fulfill his comic book role as Patriot.
The series is currently airing on Disney's streaming service and will continue until its sixth and final episode, which is scheduled to air on December 22; exactly one week before the premiere of the company's next flagship franchise series, The Book of Boba Fett.
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Source: CBR