Hawkeye has been a long time coming. Unveiled as one of the first Disney Plus Marvel Studios shows, it faced several delays due to scheduling conflicts and COVID-19 restrictions. But now that painful wait is almost over and, after more than a decade as part of the MCU ensemble, Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton is finally taking the spotlight this Wednesday.
Trailers point to a sharp-edged and kinetic action-packed adventure that takes a lot of inspiration from Matt Fraction and David Aja’s classic comics run with the character. The exact stakes will be revealed in the opening two episodes, though we know that the focus will be on Hawkeye’s relationship with his protégée Kate Bishop, who shares an enthusiasm for blowing things up with exploding arrows.
It’s also clear that Hawkeye will be a Christmas show. It airs on the cusp of the festive season and will wrap up on December 22. That seasonal atmosphere is on full display in this new poster designed by Poster Posse, which has a charming “airbrushed onto the side of the van” feel to it:
One aspect we’re still not clear on is who the antagonist will be. Florence Pugh’s Yelena is out for Clint’s head, though as she’s being manipulated by Julia Louis Dreyfuss’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine I doubt she’ll be a villain for too long.
Speculation is also building that Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin will make the leap from Daredevil. The actor recently caused a storm on social media by retweeting a promo for the show and simply commenting, “This is going to be fun. I love these @Marvel series.” A little nod to a show he likes the look of, or a hint that he’s in it?
We’ll know for certain when the first two episodes of Hawkeye hit Disney Plus on November 24.
