Hawkeye Featurette Introduces The Very Good Girl Who Played Lucky The Pizza Dog
Clint Barton this, Kate Bishop that — we all know that the two archers at the center of "Hawkeye" make an effectively heroic duo, but let's not forget the third member of their squad (and the true hero of the series), Lucky The Pizza Dog! When we first meet the then-unnamed doggo, he's caught up in some pretty serious danger and ends up in the middle of the street, where even more trouble awaits. Thankfully, Kate saves the day by flipping into the middle of the street, ruining someone's windshield, and hugging Lucky close. No more needs to be said after this chaotic introduction — as the pair go bounding away from the Tracksuit Mafia goons, we know we've witnessed the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Lucky continues to show up throughout the series, but sadly the holiday-themed "Hawkeye" saga has now come to an end and we have no choice but to wistfully reflect on our time with the pizza-munching pupper. Except that every now and then those Marvel execs get their fingers on the pulse and figure out exactly what the people need — more Lucky content!
The latest comes in the form of a Lucky-themed featurette, starring Jolt, the puppy performer who brought the beloved comic character to life. Though it mostly contains already-seen footage from the show, we do get some behind-the-scenes trivia about Jolt's work. VFX supervisor Greg Steele confirms that Jolt was "100% the real dog," was never replaced with a CGI version, and did all her own stunts!
Meet The REAL Pizza Dog: Jolt!
If you ask me, we were robbed. Yeah, Lucky made plenty of appearances, but obviously Jolt is talented enough to be the star of this whole series. The only drawback would be her Tom Cruise-like dedication to doing her own stunts, which could potentially put her in danger ... but then again, if Cruise can tough it out, so can she! Anyway, she has such an extreme cuteness level that even the biggest bads wouldn't dare harm such a fluffy dog.
Among the revelations shared in this video, we find out that doing her own stunts indeed means chowing down on some premium New York slices. This is also something we've heard from Jolt's co-star, Hailee Steinfeld. When asked by The Wrap if she was feeding Jolt real pizza, Steinfeld said:
"Yes. Not on every take, of course. The dog was so amazing. And to watch how the trainer would interact with the dog and walk her through as we do our blocking rehearsals, and we'll run through a couple of times. You can't just throw the dog into it, she needs practice too. So we would use treats until it was her moment and her close-up. And then we'd give her some pizza."
Now I'm no dog expert, but my immediate reaction to this revelation was to hit up Google with the same question you're probably starting to wonder: is pizza even safe for dogs? Well, worry not dear reader, because it's (mostly) fine. The big fear when it comes to dogs consuming pizza is the potential toxicity of the toppings — but Lucky seems to have a preference for cheese-only. Other than that, pizza is safe for dogs to eat but not exactly healthy; consuming a lot of cheese means a high salt and calorie intake. But hey, Jolt deserves to treat herself every once in a while! So long as her diet is otherwise healthy, a cheat day or two can't hurt, right? At the very least, Jolt should get an occasional pass for being a bona fide star.
Without a doubt, Lucky is a series standout and if "Hawkeye" gears up for round 2, Jolt seems primed to keep the record going. After all, the fluffy golden retriever plays a crucial role in both uniting our duo and keeping them together. Despite getting wrapped up in organized crime, Kate and Clint always head back to their home base with Lucky in mind: the pizza dog must be fed, walked, and given the customary amount of ear scratches. This is also true of Lucky in the comics, where he becomes an important member of the team. The Matt Fraction run even includes a comic from Lucky's perspective, suitably titled, "Pizza Is My Business." The MCU has never been one to offer straight comic to screen adaptations but hopefully, any potential second season of Hawkeye takes more than just aesthetic inspiration from the Fraction-Aja comics and gives Lucky her due!