Welcome to Thanks, I Love It, our series highlighting something onscreen we’re obsessed with this week.
Marvel released the Monday morning, and it looks cool and all, but there’s only one thing on my mind.
Rogers: The Musical.
One of the trailer’s opening shots reveals a Broadway marquee for a musical about Steve Rogers, the first Captain America. According to one of the pull-quotes on the marquee, it’s “a soaring, smashing, flying, fighting musical triumph!”
It’s a funny gag, one that sends up both the public adoration of Rogers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and I chuckled, thinking it would be a one-off joke.
How wrong I was.
Amidst footage of Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) teaming up and kicking butt, the Hawkeye trailer quickly one-ups itself by showing us a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sneak peek of Rogers: The Musical.
We get a glimpse of a musical version of the battle of New York from 2012’s The Avengers, complete with some choreography (look at them spin!) and Broadway versions of Earth’s mightiest heroes. All the Avengers are there, including what looks like Spiderman over on the left. Bonus points goes to the costume designer for putting musical-Loki’s horns on a funky hat.
Based on this footage, it’s clear that Rogers: The Musical figures into Hawkeye‘s plot in some fashion. Perhaps Hawkeye goes to see it and witnesses his legacy as a hero firsthand. Perhaps it’s just a very quick, very expensive-looking joke thrown into the show as a fun thing for Hawkeye and his family to do over the Christmas holidays.
However it figures into Hawkeye, I just have one request for Marvel and Disney: Please, make Rogers: The Musical a reality. The few brief moments we get are delightfully, ridiculously fun, and I will not be satisfied until we get more!
After dominating the movies and making a big impression with its first slate of TV shows, the MCU’s move to musical theater seems logical. Inevitable, even.
Rogers: The Musical doesn’t need a Broadway run. Disney could do what it did with Hamilton and release a pro-shot of one performance on Disney+, where everyone could experience the joy of a musical Captain America in all its glory. After dominating the movies and making a big impression with its first slate of TV shows, the MCU’s move to musical theater seems logical. Inevitable, even.
Now, what would Rogers: The Musical look like? I’m glad you asked.
A mash-up seems like an obvious choice. Both are figures from American history with exciting stories, plus Lin Manuel-Miranda has worked extensively with Disney, writing songs for Moana and the upcoming Encanto. Getting him to send up his own work in an MCU musical would be wildly iconic and ripe for comedy. However, a 1 to 1 Hamilton parody could get old fast.
Luckily, the MCU already has a rich tradition of musicals to draw from. Steve Rogers has already proven himself capable of carrying a musical – remember “Star Spangled Man” from Captain America: The First Avenger, composed by songwriting legend Alan Menken (Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast)?
Recently, the MCU also took a heavily musical turn in WandaVision, with multiple theme songs written by dynamic duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Frozen). They could very well repeat the Emmy-winning success of “Agatha All Along” by working on Rogers: The Musical.
I also wouldn’t be too annoyed if Rogers: The Musical took the jukebox musical route. Mashable’s own Nicole Gallucci already has an excellent song suggestion to kick things off:
As delightful as it would be to watch Steve Rogers belt out Beyoncé or excellent original songs by tremendous composers, I think the best approach to Rogers: The Musical would be to take a page from the book of Avatar: The Last Airbender and make this the MCU’s version of “The Ember Island Players.”
“The Ember Island Players” is essentially Avatar’s recap episode. The main characters go see a play performed about their adventures, only to find that the play makes fun of them and often gets key events wrong. Avatar uses this episode as an opportunity to poke fun at some of its own flaws, as well as fan reactions to the show.
This kind of tactic would be a fun way to tackle Rogers: The Musical. There’s something inherently cringeworthy about making a musical centered on Steve Rogers. It’s a clear Broadway cash grab that Rogers himself likely wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with. If Marvel were to lean into that aspect of the musical while poking fun at itself and wider musical tropes – a Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark reference is mandatory – it would strike comedic gold while also potentially mining some deeper meaning about hero worship. Who knows? I just desperately want to see the Avengers dancing.
So please, Marvel and Disney, if you’re listening. Give the people what they want: Rogers: The Musical. And if a full production doesn’t work out, might I suggest a musical episode?
Rogers: The Musical premieres in our hearts on the same day.
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