The Hawkeye Disney+ series is set to flesh out the heroic journey of Clint Barton in a whole new light, further exploring the character's past while also looking ahead in terms of finding a potential replacement in the form of Kate Bishop. The series will see the return of Jeremy Renner as the titular Avenger, and a previous rumor suggests that he will be joined by several notable additions that will shape the narrative.
In the past months, there has been plenty of buzz surrounding Hawkeye , ranging from the potential debut of Madame Masque as one of the show's villains to the inclusion of a Daredevil character in the form of Echo .
The latter proved to be an intriguing addition to the growing cast of Hawkeye , seemingly hinting that Barton could end up losing his hearing at some point in the series. Now, a new rumor appears to hint that this plot point might very well end up being true.
RUMOR
Murphy's Multiverse shared in a report that Hawkeye is "actively looking" for a "middle-aged Chinese audiologist who works in a rundown building and is off-the-books." This casting addition could potentially hint that Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton will eventually lose his hearing in the MCU series.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Last June, it was rumored that Marvel Studios considered the idea of Clint going deaf in Hawkeye , and it seems that this plan will push through due to this recently-uncovered casting addition. This plot point being explored in live-action shouldn't be surprising for fans of the character since there's precedent from the comics that he is deaf at one point.
During 1983's Hawkeye #4 by Mark Gruenwald, it was revealed that Hawkeye blasted his eardrums with a sonic arrowhead to defeat Crossfire, and this incident eventually led to the character's loss of hearing. Not only that, Matt Fraction's Hawkeye comics, which is being touted as the inspiration of the Disney+ series, also placed the spotlight on Clint's deafness.
By connecting the dots, it seems that Hawkeye is poised to explore this particular aspect of Clint's life. Considering that the MCU is known to tweak storylines from the comics, it will be interesting to see how Marvel Studios will flesh out the origin story of Clint's deafness in a live-action setting.
On the flip side, this casting addition could also allude to the looming debut of another deaf superhero, Echo. It's possible that the audiologist is working alongside Echo before eventually being tracked down by Clint for help.
Whatever the case, Hawkeye is shaping up to be an exciting way to expand Clint's story in the MCU, especially after serving as a side character for the majority of his silver screen appearances for the franchise.
