Hawkeye faced its share of issues on its journey to the screen. The Marvel show starring Jeremy Renner's Avenger was the fourth MCU Disney+ show to ever release, and it went on to become a fan favorite. However, it wasn't always smooth sailing behind the scenes for Hawkeye, as one of the series' writers has revealed the obstacles the show had to overcome to reach the screen in 2021.
Marvel's latest Disney+ show, Wonder Man, is created by Andrew Guest, who also served as a leading writer on Hawkeye. During an interview with the Official Marvel Podcast, Guest revealed that Hawkeye was an important part of his path to being hired on Wonder Man, and that he was brought into the MCU fold thanks to his friendship with the Russo Brothers, who recommended him to Marvel's executives when they were on the lookout for a new head writer.
Guest recounted that he received a call from Marvel Studios Executive of Production & Development, Trinh Tran, regarding Hawkeye, who told him they wanted to "re-write the whole thing" just a week and a half before filming began in New York:
Guest: "Trinh [Tran] calls me, says, 'We start shooting the show in a week and a half in New York, and we want to re-write the whole thing. I'm going to send you six episodes today. We'll meet tomorrow and discuss.' And that was 'Hawkeye'."
The writer said he closed a deal after meeting with Tran and Brad Winderbaum, Marvel's Head of Streaming, TV, and Animation. He then "started working around the clock remotely" and continued "feeding them stuff" as Hawkeye was filming:
"And the next day, I met with her and Brad and sort of talked about what I thought was working, what wasn't working. And they said, 'Great.' And we closed a deal that night. I started working around the clock remotely as we started shooting and kept feeding them stuff."
Despite the fast turnaround, Guest said his experience on Hawkeye was "a great introduction to Marvel," adding that they were "in the trenches together:"
"And it was in many ways a great introduction to Marvel because I needed all the help I could get from them. And we were all just in the trenches together in this really wonderful way. You know, Marvel producers are very hands-on and I was grateful to have hands-on help and we shaped a show that we all were very happy with."
Marvel Studios is no stranger to last-minute production schedules and changes. Many MCU films have famously been filmed without completed scripts, often finding their stories through lengthy reshoots.
Hawkeye seems to be another of Marvel Studios' last-minute miracles, with Guest's hiring leading to a complete re-write of the show as it was filming. While a last-minute re-write of six episodes adds to a stressful production cycle, Marvel Studios clearly sensed there were issues with Hawkeye's state at the time, and re-writing it ultimately seems to have led to a better product.
The series, starring Renner and Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, followed Kate and Clint Barton on a Christmas adventure in New York City as they confronted enemies Barton made during his time as Ronin. Hawkeye premiered on November 24, 2021, and became one of the MCU's top-scoring TV shows with 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Does Hawkeye's Past Jeopardize Its Season 2 Future?
Despite its issues in Season 1, Hawkeye's final product was ultimately successful. Fans have long been asking for a second season of Hawkeye - although the Disney+ series has faced its share of issues on this front as well.
Star Jeremy Renner has been vocal about his support of Hawkeye Season 2, although the MCU star mentioned a pay dispute he had with Marvel, which puts another season in jeopardy.
Adding to that are recent comments from Andrew Guest about Hawkeye Season 2, who told The Direct, "the timing didn't work out" for them to make another season:
Guest: "There was talk at a certain point about… we did explore creatively what Season 2 of 'Hawkeye' might be if we were able to do it. Unfortunately, the timing didn't work out in terms of Marvel and all the various pieces that need to come together, but I loved working on 'Hawkeye.' I think [Jeremy] Renner and Hailee Steinfeld are so terrific together, and I would love to see more of those two."
Nevertheless, rumors have persisted since 2021 that Marvel is still exploring ways to make Hawkeye Season 2 happen. If it does, it will be one of the few MCU Disney+ shows to receive a second season.
However, it would be a worthy one, as Clint Barton and Kate Bishop are both popular characters, and Steinfeld's character in particular seems to have a bright future in the MCU, and could benefit from another TV show continuing her story.
