Hawkeye: Jeremy Renner Weighs In On Clint's Survivor's Guilt

If you've been keeping up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe lately, then you know things haven't been going so well for Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton. The "Hawkeye" star went into a deep — and murderous — depressive state following the loss of his family in "Avengers: Infinity War" on account of the Thanos snap, and was then forced to watch his best friend and SHIELD partner Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow toss herself off a cliff in "Avengers: Endgame." Having survivor's guilt is practically a given — so much so that director Rhys Thomas has decided to play up the theme in the comic book hero's upcoming Disney+ series. 

"I think selfishly for our show, it does set you up with a character," Thomas told Business Insider recently. "That he did these dark things as the Ronin but then yes, had someone sacrifice herself even knowing that so that he could have his life back with his family. And that was an interesting entry point for me. It's just understanding that person and what they must feel, that survivor's guilt and carrying that weight on your shoulders. This is two years after ['Endgame'] and he's ostensibly got everything that he wanted back. He's with his wife and his kids but can you shut that away? Obviously not and that's what we get to deal with."

So how does Renner feel about the upcoming deep dive into Barton's inner troubles and self-remorse over Romanoff's death? The Oscar nominee ("The Hurt Locker") opened up about the emotional setup for "Hawkeye" in a press conference that Looper attended on Tuesday, November 16, and explained how it affects his character.

Describing how Clint Barton's survivor's guilt could possibly affect the character, Jeremy Renner told reporters that it's just part of managing "the superhero game." 

"There's a lot of things that are lost," Renner explained, referencing the fallout from "Infinity War" and "Endgame," which also saw the departure of Captain America and Iron Man. "It's addressed in this show, which I think is beautifully intimate," Renner said. "It brings our characters closer together, as well as the audience. There's a lot of weight that's carried. There might be a seemingly veneer of grumpiness in this resting face in the show, but ultimately it comes from just the weight and the horrors and tragedies and loss that come with the game. It's managing losses, [that] is the superhero game."

Without giving too much of away, Renner said it is Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop character who helps alleviate some of the inner tension and emotional struggles that Barton is feeling throughout the "Hawkeye" series. "The lightness and brightness that Hailee's character brings in kind of counteracts that, comes in and kind of gets to level [it] out some," Renner said. "It's pretty cathartic and I think quite beautiful." 

The first two episodes of "Hawkeye" are set to debut on November 24 via Disney+