The Hawkeye Disney+ series is set to bring Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton to the forefront, but the Avengers' resident marksman will not be alone this time around. Instead, Barton will be joined by his protégé from the comics, Kate Bishop, and she is poised to take over the Hawkeye mantle from the latter as the MCU moves forward with new and exciting storylines.
Despite that, it is expected that a huge chunk of Hawkeye will be dedicated to exploring the origin story of Clint in the MCU, further fleshing out the character to potentially provide a well-deserved sendoff. Production for Hawkeye is now underway in New York, seemingly hinting that the series could be released sometime next year.
Alongside Renner, it has been confirmed via set photos and videos that Hailee Steinfeld ( Bumblebee ) will portray the live-action version of Kate Bishop. And now, it seems that more cast members will join the heroic duo.
REPORT
Variety shared in a report that Hawkeye has added several members to its growing cast. Along with series leads Jeremy Renner and the now-confirmed Hailee Steinfeld, the outlet revealed that Vera Farmiga ( Godzilla King of Monsters ), Florence Pugh ( Black Widow ), Fra Fee ( Les Misérables ), Tony Dalton ( Better Call Saul ), Alaqua Cox, and Zahn McClarnon ( Fargo ) will all appear in the series.
The casting breakdown says that Farmiga will play Eleanor Bishop, the mother of Kate Bishop, while Dalton will play Jack Duquesne a.k.a. Swordsman. Meanwhile, Fee will portray the mercenary villain Clown while Cox will bring Daredevil character Maya Lopez to life.
Lastly, McClarnon will play the role of William Lopez, with Variety speculating that the character will be the live-action version of Maya's father from the comics.
The Direct was first to report about Pugh's involvement as Yelena Belova in the series.
WHAT THIS MEANS
Based on this reveal, it's clear that a deep dive into Clint Barton's MCU history will be featured in Hawkeye , and that's a good thing for the MCU hero. The casting of Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne a.k.a. Swordsman means that Barton's past in the carnival will be explored, giving fans a glimpse of how the Avenger became an expert in archery.
For those unaware, Duquesne served as Clint's mentor in the comics, ultimately training him to become a skilled fighter, but, as expected, things went awry between the two. This led to Clint running away from Duquesne after the former found out that the latter was revealed to be a criminal. It remains to be seen if Hawkeye will adapt this relationship in live-action, but there's a strong chance that some elements will be retained in order to pay homage to the character's original dynamic.
Farmiga's involvement presents a lot of interesting possibilities for Steinfeld's Kate Bishop. In the comics, Kate is the daughter of an evil businessman who is doing dangerous deals with criminals. Given how the MCU has a knack for changing comics-related plot points in order to fulfill its storylines, it's possible that Kate's shady father will be retconned to feature Farmiga's Eleanor Bishop instead. On the flip side, it's also possible that Eleanor will be portrayed as the character that needs to be rescued by Kate and Clint from the show's chief villains.
Moreover, after months of rumors , it's great to finally see the confirmation of Maya Lopez's involvement in the show, and the character's inclusion will further boost speculation about the plot point involving Clint's loss of hearing. On top of that, the addition of Pugh's Yelena Belova will further cement the show's connection to the larger MCU.
Whatever the case, Hawkeye is shaping up to be an exciting adventure for both Clint Barton and Kate Bishop.
