Jeremy Renner has, without a doubt, not been given the screentime he deserves in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He’s shown up as the bow-wielding Avenger Hawkeye in two films now, but has been repeatedly given the short shrift in favor of other members of the superhero team. He had a small but meaningless cameo in Thor, and spent most of The Avengers being mind-controlled by Loki; something that Renner himself has openly complained about several times.
That may be changing now, however, as Marvel moves from Phase Two to Phase Three, beginning with next year’s Avengers sequel, Avengers: Age of Ultron. We’ve heard rumors that Hawkeye will have a bit more to do this time around, but he’s constantly named by fans as the Avenger least likely to make it out of the film alive.
That may not actually be the case if Renner’s new comments are to be believed, though. When asked by Collider about the chances of Hawkeye getting more screentime in the MCU, he stated that he may actually have a role in Captain America 3:
“There are rumblings of Captain America 3. I don’t know what’s going to happen there. I’ve got to find that time, man [laughs]. I’m trying to stay home and I can’t.”
While far from an official confirmation, Hawkeye showing up in Cap 3 is certainly worth speculating (and getting cautiously optimistic) about. There’s a lot of potential for Hawkeye in the MCU, as he could not only show up in his own solo films, but appear in other franchise installments as well, a la Black Widow in Iron Man 2 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Additionally, he has a very interesting, fun relationship with Steve Rogers in the comics, that could easily translate well on screen. Perhaps if Marvel gets the ball rolling on that proposed Black Widow solo film, Hawkeye could team up with Cap and Falcon for Captain America 3.
The Winter Soldier directors Anthony and Joe Russo remained tight-lipped about the possibility when asked about Renner’s comments during an interview with SuperheroHype:
“There are certainly characters that Cap is close to or has a strong relationship with that would make sense appearing in his films. I think that’s all we can say about it.”
What do you think? Would you like to see Renner show up as Hawkeye in Captain America 3? Or do you think he’ll bite the dust in Avengers: Age of Ultron? Sound off in the comments below!
