As Marvel fans return to theaters for Eternals and eagerly await the second trailer for December's Spider-Man: No Way Home, the MCU is also returning to Disney+ with its next series - Hawkeye.
Inspired by the 2012 Hawkeye comic run by Matt Fraction and David Aja, Hawkeye stars Jeremy Renner reprises his role as Clint Barton along with Marvel newcomer Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop. Set in New York at Christmastime, the two form a mentor and mentee relationship as Renner struggles to take care of a new threat in time to be home for the holidays.
In keeping with Marvel Studios' Phase 4 trend, this new project introduces yet another new hero to the MCU fold with Kate Bishop, whose bond with Barton may be somewhat familiar to Marvel fans.
Hawkeye Parallels Spider-Man and Iron Man Bond
In talking with GamesRadar, Hawkeye's directing team, comprised of Rhys Thomas and the Bert and Bertie duo of Amber Templemore-Finlayson and Katie Ellwood respectively, discussed how Kate Bishop's relationship with Clint Barton mirrors that of Peter Parker and Tony Stark in Spider-Man: Homecoming, as well as the importance of Kate's character.
After all, while Marvel Studios has a number of new young heroes waiting in the wings with Ms. Marvel and Ironheart, Hailee Steinfeld's Kate is leading the charge while also adding to Marvel's growing roster of female heroes.
In fact, Kate's character and what she represents is what first attracted the show's directors, as Bertie explained, saying, "If this had just been Hawkeye, I don't think we would have been as interested:"
"We're drawn to female stories. If this had just been Hawkeye, I don't think we would have been as interested. But we get to tell the complexity of Kate’s character, the kick-ass-ness of the character. She's f****** amazing at what she does; her bowmanship and her attitude. We wanted to explore all of that, especially female characters who are like, 'I rock and I'm good at what I do!'"
However, despite Kate's confidence and skill, she's young and doesn't yet understand what a hero truly is or what it requires apart from her abilities. She's actually in a similar position as Peter Parker throughout most of Spider-Man: Homecoming.
As Clint and Kate work together throughout the show, Clint will be the one to show her that, just like how Tony did the same for Peter.
Bertie actually quoted one of Clint's lines from the series where he warns Kate saying, "'You sacrifice a lot for what we do. This thing that you want, it comes at a price.' That's a real moment for her.”
Hawkeye's directors also praised Hailee Steinfeld's performance both on-screen and off, saying "she wanted to do the stunts even though they were all exhausting," while also teasing her humor.
"On set, she is a consummate professional, always thinking about the character and she wanted to do the stunts even though they were all exhausting. We shot for 98 days and she was always there. She was always present and she was always on. She's just incredible. And you know, she's funny. She gets to be funny in this, so I think she had a lot of fun with that as well."
Hawkeye & Spider-Man's Web of Connections
While Hawkeye's directing team teased Kate's moment of coming to terms with the demands of being a hero, Peter Parker not only had a similar moment in Homecoming but continued to discover those required sacrifices in Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame, and Far From Home.
It will be interesting to see how Marvel handles Kate's arc, as well as her relationship with Barton, in a six-episode series as opposed to multiple films.
It's also worth noting that the show's parallel mentor/mentee relationship with Spider-Man: Homecoming isn't the only connection between Kate and Clint's holiday adventure and the webslinger.
After all, Clint and Kate are in New York, just like Peter Parker and Tony were; and there are rumors suggesting that Spider-Man antagonist Kingpin, played by Vincent D'Onofrio, may appear in the upcoming series.
Also, in a recent trailer for the show, Eleanor Bishop echoes a phrase first used by Jake Gyllenhaal's Quentin Beck in Spider-Man: Far From Home, asking Clint if her daughter is helping with "an Avengers-level threat."
Whether Hawkeye will hold more connections to Peter Parker and Tony Stark, or the Spider-Man world in general, remains to be seen; but Hawkeye is just the beginning of Kate Bishop's journey within the MCU.
The first two episodes of Hawkeye will stream on Disney+ on November 24, 2021.
