When the first posters were revealed for Avengers: Infinity War, Hawkeye fans (yes, they do apparently exist) immediately expressed their disappointment that their favorite hero didn’t appear. Given that he was one of the original Avengers, his absence seemed very odd, especially as it looked like pretty much every MCU character to date would put in an appearance. Fortunately, those fans got more than enough Hawkeye in Avengers: Endgame, with the character playing a pivotal role in defeating Thanos.
Now, Jeremy Renner has informed fans that Hawkeye was indeed planned to make an appearance in Infinity War. Speaking at the San Antonio Celebrity Fan Fest on Saturday, Renner explained that the opening scene of Endgame, in which an idyllic country day with Hawkeye’s family becomes a tragedy as they’re all victims of Thanos’ snap, was originally intended to close out Infinity War. This also fits with what directors Joe and Anthony Russo have said in previous interviews.
While it would’ve been nice to see Clint in the film, I think moving this scene was a smart decision. First of all, the ending of Infinity War is depressing enough already. We’ve just sat through many of our favorite heroes collapsing into dust, including that heartbreaking moment when Tom Holland’s Spider-Man dies in Tony Stark’s arms. Adding this misery on top of that’s perhaps pushing things a little too far.
Secondly, moving it to the start of Endgame immediately establishes the stakes of the movie and is a great way to kick-off Hawkeye’s character development. It also neatly explains why he reappears as the vengeance-crazed Ronin early on in the film.
That the two movies share connective tissue may be an indication that we’ll one day see a collected ‘Infinity Saga’ supercut, in which both Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame are spliced together into one mammoth superhero extravaganza. I’d be up for sitting through a six and a half hour movie, would you?