Its midway through December and we have two Marvel releases side by side that reference each other. Spider-Man: No Way Home is out in theatres while Hawkeye episode five debuted recently. With both Hawkeye and Spider-Man: No Way Home set in the MCU, of course we know they take place in the same universe, but this is the first time we have seen two Marvel projects reference the same thing in the span of one day. Spider-Man No Way Home Movie Review: Tom Holland’s Marvel Film Is a Multiversal Celebration of the Iconic Avenger! (LatestLY Exclusive).

Spider-Man: No Way Home picks up right after the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home and has a time jump. Overall it still takes place a few days before the events of Hawkeye while the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home has another time jump with the events taking place almost at the same time during the show.

But aside from the time they take place in, both, the film and the show reference each other in many regards. For example earlier in Spider-Man: No Way Home we see the poster for Rogers the Musical. For anyone who has watched Hawkeye, they know that Roger the Musical is the same play that Clint attends with his family at the beginning of the show.

The references though don’t only end over here. If you have watched Spider-Man: No Way Home by now, which we hope you have because we are about to spoil it, then you know that the final battle takes place at the top of Statue of Liberty that has a Captain America shield on it. By the end of it, the Statue of Liberty is heavily damaged with the shield completely fallen off. Hawkeye Episode 5 Review: Florence Pugh Proves To Be Scene-Stealer Again; Disney+ Series Heralds Return of Fan-Favourite Marvel Villain… Well, Almost! (LatestLY Exclusive).

In the fifth episode of Hawkeye, Yelena mentions that how she is in New York and she wants to go and see the new and improved Statue of Liberty. This itself confirms that they have repaired the Statue and that the events of Hawkeye take place after Spider-Man: No Way Home.

And again, the references just don’t end at Statue of Liberty. Spider-Man: No Way Home also brings back Charlie Cox's Daredevil while Hawkeye brings back Vince D’Onofrio’s Wilson Fisk. Daredevil fans  everywhere rejoice as their favorite actors playing their favorite characters have returned.

They honestly found a great way to tie these projects in naturally without it feeling shoehorned. These small references make the universe feel big and I hope the MCU continues to do this. Spider-Man: No Way Home is playing in theatres right now while the final episode of Hawkeye streams next Wednesday on Disney+ Hotstar at 1:31pm.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 16, 2021 08:14 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).