Avengers 4 Set Pics Confirm Hawkeye Will Become Ronin

Production on the untitled Avengers 4 is now well underway.

Since Joe and Anthony Russo first yelled “action!” on the Atlanta set a few months ago, we’ve gained new insight into Black Widow’s involvement, as Scarlett Johansson’s super-agent is poised to have a run-in with the Yakuza. Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye is also along for the ride, and may well assume a new alias by the time Avengers 4 rolls around in 2019.

That’s because we’ve heard that Clint Barton will ditch his traditional superhero identity and instead become the masked, samurai sword-sporting Ronin. As fans will know, Barton’s switch is comic book accurate. He actually spent a fairly long stretch under that identity, serving as Ronin on the New Avengers and during the Skrull invasion.

As such, we should expect Barton’s new alter ego to stick around well into the MCU’s Phase Four. This also leaves the door open for the character’s other comic book identities to appear at some point – Goliath, Golden Archer and even (for a brief period) Captain America. Chalk that up as speculation for now, but a batch of new set photos have surfaced today which all but confirm that this change in identity will be taking place in Avengers 4.

Those familiar with the source material will note that while the actor’s trying to cover up here, what’s on his legs are a dead giveaway for the fate that awaits Hawkeye. Yes, the black suit with gold lining is most definitely in line with Ronin’s comic book costume and signals that we will indeed see the character make the transition. Of course, the studio has yet to officially confirm this, but we don’t really need any further proof at this point and if nothing else, the change to Ronin indicates that Renner has a bright future ahead of him in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Before we see him back in action, though, we’ve got Thor: Ragnarok on November 3rd to look forward to, at which point Taika Waititi’s wacky threequel will bring the curtain down on Marvel’s 2017 offerings. For the second year on the trot, 2018 will then herald three big-name tentpoles in Black Panther, Infinity War, and Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, before Avengers 4 slams into theaters on May 3rd, 2019. And no, it’s not called Infinity Gauntlet.