Hailee Steinfeld had been rumored as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Kate Bishop long before she was cast in Disney Plus series Hawkeye, and even then the studio only officially confirmed the news weeks after shooting had started, with plenty of set photos having already given the game away.
Fans were falling over themselves to praise the actress as soon as the first trailer dropped, and with the show expected to see Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton hand over the mantle of the MCU’s resident expert archer to his new protege, the 24 year-old is in it for the long haul.
In a new interview with ScreenRant, Steinfeld shared her excitement over getting to board the most popular property in Hollywood, and even drew comparisons to her role in AppleTV+’s revisionist historical comedy Dickinson.
“This is so much fun, and a Christmas spectacular indeed. I am so excited to have gone from playing a character like Emily Dickinson for the last three years. Because I feel I’ve spent so much time with her, in playing this very strong and determined and independent and driven female character, going into one that has those same qualities was a very exciting thing for me. And entering the world of Kate Bishop and the world of the Marvel Universe has been absolutely incredible and a roller coaster ride to say the least. I can’t wait for this show to come out.”
Phase Four will be partly defined by the notion of legacy, with the mantle of Captain America already being handed over from Steve Rogers to Sam Wilson, and that’s set to continue in Hawkeye. The comic book saga is in the midst of a huge overhaul in terms of both personnel and storytelling now that the multiverse is in play, and Steinfeld is being positioned as one of the marquee new faces to lead the MCU into the future.