The Surprising Connection Between Hawkeye And Spider-Man: No Way Home

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a pretty big place, but there are plenty of connections which tie all the various movies and TV shows together. And since "Spider-Man: No Way Home" dives headfirst into the multiverse, there are going to be even more Easter eggs and references for Marvel fans to pick up on. There's a horde of returning villains, including Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and Electro (Jamie Foxx). Rhys Ifans' Lizard and Thomas Haden Church's Sandman both appeared in the most recent trailer as well, rounding out the list of returning foes. 

Tom Holland's Spider-Man won't be alone in his fight, as he'll have Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) by his side to help contain the multiverse — although, since the Sorcerer Supreme's sequel is titled "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness," that's probably not going to go too well. It's a huge step from the most recent Marvel adventure fans have been watching weekly in the Disney+ series "Hawkeye," which introduces Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) alongside Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner).

The new series is a way of passing the Hawkeye name over to the younger hero, probably with the intention of setting up a "Young Avengers" project further down the line. But there's also a surprising connection between the "Hawkeye" show and "Spider-Man: No Way Home." And no, it's not just because they both take place in New York... or is it?

Marvel fans were recently treated to the opening scene of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" thanks to Late Night with Seth, and the scene picks up immediately after the ending to "Far From Home," when Spider-Man's identity is unmasked by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) (via YouTube). It sees the Wall-Crawler and MJ (Zendaya) mobbed by New Yorkers who accuse him of murder before the hero grabs MJ and they web-swing away from the crowd.

But as they're soaring through the New York skyline, there's a surprising connection to "Hawkeye" which can be seen in the background: huge billboards for "Rogers: The Musical." In, "Hawkeye" Episode 1 titled "Never Meet Your Heroes," Clint and his kids watch that same musical — which brings up some past trauma for the archer regarding Black Widow's (Scarlett Johannson) death in "Avengers: Endgame." Clearly, "Rogers: The Musical" is doing incredibly well to be on the huge billboards in Times Square.

It'll be interesting to see whether "Hawkeye" ends with a tease for "Spider-Man: No Way Home" since they're both arriving at the same time. However, there are some discrepancies in the timing of it all, since "No Way Home" will take place in late summer, early fall 2024, and "Hawkeye" takes place at Christmas. That being said, it's not impossible there'll be something of a time-jump when Spidey's third solo-outing arrives in theaters on December 17, 2021.