New Hawkeye Set Photos Lay Those Kate Bishop Casting Rumors To Rest
After much speculation, photos from the set of the upcoming Disney+ series Hawkeye confirm that Hailee Steinfeld will star as the character Kate Bishop alongside the Hawkeye incumbent Jeremy Renner.
The set pics, posted on Twitter, show the pair of them running down a set of subway stairs. Steinfeld has a bow in one hand and a dog's leash in the other, with a very cute Golden Retriever at the end of it.
After a series of social media teases, we're finally getting a look at Hawkeye. The show will take place after Avengers: Endgame, which ended an era for the original six big-screen Avengers, and will join both WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier in showing the aftermath of the battle with Thanos. While we have no release date yet for the series, production is evidently underway, and fans can rejoice in knowing the rumors were true: the Oscar-nominated star of True Grit, Edge of Seventeen, and Bumblebee is playing Kate Bishop.
Who are Kate Bishop and Pizza Dog?
If your Marvel experience is more with the movies than the comics, Kate Bishop may be an entirely new name, so here's a quick rundown. In the comics, Kate Bishop is the daughter of a wealthy businessman. After an attack in Central Park, she takes an interest in learning how to defend herself, and becomes a member of the Young Avengers. Eventually, she takes on the name Hawkeye when everyone thinks Clint Barton is dead, but later the two of them work together. Like Clint, she has no superpowers, but is an excellent archer and has skills in sword fighting and martial arts. That backstory may not remain fully intact for the show, but it'll likely keep the basics.
As for the dog in the pictures, he can be none other than Lucky the Pizza Dog. Lucky is a companion to both Kate and Clint in writer Matt Fraction and artist David Aja's run of Hawkeye comics, with one issue entirely in his point of view revealing that he thinks of himself as Pizza Dog because he, well, likes pizza.
Kate Bishop may be taking over the Hawkeye name
Nothing of the series' plot has been revealed yet, but the last we saw of Clint Barton, he had reunited with his family after the Snap dissolved them. While he's got his wife and children back, depending on how soon Hawkeye takes place after Endgame, he's likely reeling from the loss of his close friend Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) and dealing with his dark run as the vigilante Ronin. It seems he'll be training the young Kate Bishop, possibly with the intention of her taking over his spot in the Avengers.
Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe ended last year, and the next few years promise huge changes to the Avengers roster. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) died and passed on his legacy to Peter Parker (Tom Holland). Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) retired and bestowed his shield upon Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie). Some fans speculate that Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova will become the new Black Widow after being introduced in the upcoming prequel. Meanwhile, Thor: Love and Thunder might be the end of Chris Hemsworth's Thor, as Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) will take up the mantle in some capacity. It's a new era for the super team, and it's exciting to see Hailee Steinfeld joining it.