Hawkeye Clip: Hawkeye's Got A Branding Problem
We're less than ten days from the release of "Hawkeye," the latest Disney+ streaming series from Marvel Studios that's set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The show has already garnered some strong word of mouth from critics who have gotten an early look at a couple of the episodes, and as "Hawkeye" ticks off the remaining days until its debut, Marvel wants to make sure you know that the show is almost here. So prepare for a quiver full of clips and TV spots to arrive in the coming days, starting with a brand new clip featuring Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton and Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop.
"Branding Issues"
It's a tired joke at this point, but Hawkeye truly is one of the most unimpressive members of the MCU's initial lineup of Avengers. This clip acknowledges that reality by having a young child announce his excitement to see a superhero in New York City's Times Square, only to sprint right past Hawkeye/Clint Barton and instead run up to take a picture with a bunch of costumed impersonators. Sorry, Clint – ya burnt. There's a classic "old generation/new generation" divide on display here when Kate suggests that branding is his problem, but that divide is thankfully not depicted as an obnoxious "old guy refuses to accept changing times" framing, and I'm hoping the rest of the show is able to strike this balance between revealing character attitudes and communicating plot information at the same time.
My favorite part of this entire clip is how Clint doesn't even have to look at the leather-clad female archer posing for photos to know that it's someone posing as Katniss Everdeen, and the exhausted way he imparts that information to Kate implies a depressing (but kind of hilarious) unseen scenario. Picture this: months before this scene takes place, Clint walks through through this same area, sees all of his fellow Avengers represented by these costumed actors, proudly thinks he's being represented by one of them wielding a bow and arrow, and is utterly crestfallen to discover that it was actually someone dressing up as a Jennifer Lawrence character from a YA franchise. Quite a blow to the ol' ego.
Renner has admittedly never been my favorite part of these movies, but I like his character's put-upon attitude in this scene, I've loved Hailee Steinfeld as an actor since her breakout performance in the Coen Brothers' "True Grit," and that lengthy "Children of Men"-inspired action sequence that appeared in the sizzle reel released on Disney+ Day impressed me, so I find myself curious to see how "Hawkeye" turns out.
The show arrives on Disney+ on November 24, 2021.