Warning: SPOILERS for Hawkeye episode 3.

Avengers: Endgame messed with the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s timeline, and Hawkeye mocks the confusion with a subtle Easter egg. Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) just wants to spend the holidays with his kids in Hawkeye; however, things don’t go as planned. After Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) wears Hawkeye’s old Ronin outfit while fighting criminals, Barton’s former enemies target her. Not wanting Bishop to pay for his crimes, Hawkeye tries to clear up the situation. But, unfortunately, Bishop messes up that plan too. After Hawkeye allows the villainous Tracksuit Mafia to capture him, Bishop tries to pull off a poorly-conceived rescue attempt, and she gets caught herself. The pair eventually escape, but the Tracksuit Mafia destroys Hawkeye’s hearing aid in the process.

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Endgame left fans confused about the MCU’s timeline. In addition to time-traveling shenanigans, which had the Avengers jumping back to several different years in MCU history, Endgame features a five-year time jump. Since Thanos’ (Josh Brolin) deadly finger snap in Avengers: Infinity War took place in 2018, that means the present-day events of Endgame happen around 2023. However, since Endgame’s premiere in 2019, the MCU has released several different projects, with some taking place before Endgame and some happening after. As a result, the MCU timeline is entirely baffling.

Marvel seemingly mocked its own confusing timeline in Hawkeye episode 3. Previous Hawkeye set photos appeared to reveal that the series takes place in 2025, which is two years after the Avengers reversed Thanos’ snap. And Hawkeye director Rhys Thomas even seemed to confirm the timeline in interviews. However, Thomas later said (via Twitter) that the series takes place in 2024, one year after the snap. Nevertheless, Hawkeye episode 3 seems to acknowledge the confusing timeline as Barton and Bishop try to get Hawkeye’s hearing aid fixed in Chinatown. As they wait, the pair sit in front of a sign celebrating the new year, and objects obscure the last digit of the date.

With so much confusion about the timeline already, obscuring the date in the show is a humorous way to avoid further issues. When it comes to the MCU, even Hawkeye director Rhys Thomas was seemingly confused about the timeline. After all, the show was supposed to be set in 2025 before Marvel switched it to 2024. So rather than revealing an exact date and adding to the confusion, Hawkeye episode 3 simply hides it. The poster is a subtle Easter egg for MCU fans aware of the set photos, and it’s a clever way to avoid more timeline confusion.

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When it comes to Hawkeye, the timeline doesn’t matter. The series is about Hawkeye reconciling with his dark past and passing the torch to the next generation of MCU heroes. Whether the series takes place in 2024 or 2025 is irrelevant. If anything, revealing the date in the scene would just be distracting for fans concerned about Clint Barton’s MCU timeline. It could also potentially cause continuity issues down the road. By obscuring the date, Hawkeye avoids the timeline issues created by Avengers: Endgame, mocking the MCU’s most confusing detail in the process.

Hawkeye releases new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.

Key Release Dates
  • Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)Release date: Dec 17, 2021
  • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
  • Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
  • The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
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About The Author


Bill Bradley
(524 Articles Published)

Bill is an experienced reporter who’s covered entertainment and fandom since 2014. He’s done everything from unearthing the discarded Game of Thrones pilot script in a library in Texas to finding out why Steve left Blue’s Clues. He also enjoys eating Taco Bell and drinking chocolate milk.

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