Hailee Steinfeld Loves Her Hawkeye Scenes With Florence Pugh As Much As You Do
Spoilers ahead for all six episodes of "Hawkeye" season 1.
One of the best parts of any Marvel Cinematic Universe film or series is getting to see major characters interact with one another for the first time. Indeed, in the case of "Hawkeye," one highlight exchanges between Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), both of whom only joined the franchise this year. As if getting to watch Emily Dickinson from "Dickinson" and Amy March from "Little Women" cross paths wasn't exciting enough for fans of those period pieces, it turned out Steinfeld and Pugh also have crackling chemistry onscreen.
In an interview with ET, Steinfeld named Kate's first meeting with Yelena as one of her two favorite moments from "Hawkeye" season 1, along with the big car chase from episode 3. The latter scene pit Kate and her reluctant mentor Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) against the Tracksuit Mafia and was partly shot and edited to look like a single take. It culminated with Kate and Clint employing all kinds of trick arrows (including one infused with Pym Particles) to ward off their opponents, much to Steinfeld's delight.
Noting that she and Renner had "the absolute time of our lives" filming the scene, Steinfeld explained why it encompassed so much of what she had hoped to get out of joining the MCU:
"It was just so amazing, because this show is so beautifully balanced with these grounded characters and these very human emotional conversations, and of course, in the perfect MCU fashion, the car chases and the wild stunts and fight sequences. That was one of the first moments I had where I felt like, I had been in this very character-driven world, and then we were thrown in the middle of this car chase, and it was just the most epic thing."
Kate Bishop Yelena Belova Buddy Movie When?
After briefly crossing paths when Yelena tried to kill Clint at the end of episode 4, "Hawkeye" episode 5 began with Kate and Yelena meeting properly for the first time at Kate's apartment. However, in spite of their initial hostilities (y'know, over the whole Yelena trying to murder Kate's idol turned friend), the two amusingly ended up bonding while sharing some mac and cheese and hot sauce over the course of their subsequent conversation.
Here's what Steinfeld had to say about the pair's unexpected "little girls' night":
"That was some of the most fun I've had working and Florence is incredible in that scene. That was really special, and fun to play through."
Kate and Yelena would go on to have another equally memorable interaction in the "Hawkeye" finale, resulting in a comical elevator fight that spills out into an almost slapstick-y brawl between the duo across a mostly empty office building floor (much of which is captured in a smooth, horizontal tracking shot). It's enough to leave you wanting to see a full-blown buddy movie featuring Kate and Yelena on a mission to save the world together. (Clint can just chill at home with his family this time; it's what he wants to do, anyway.) Failing that, there's always the potential "Hawkeye" season 2, yes?
The entirety of "Hawkeye" season 1 is streaming on Disney+.