Nobody loves the controversy surrounding Hawkeye more than Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who spoke about the character’s absence in Avengers: Infinity War to io9.
“I think it’s one of the best things that ever happened to Hawkeye,” Feige said. “We (at Marvel) love Hawkeye. There are big, big story things coming up for Hawkeye and Jeremy Renner is as strong an actor as anyone in the MCU and awesome as this character.”
Ever since marketing for Avengers: Infinity War began, Hawkeye has been conspicuously absent; Renner’s name isn’t even on the movie’s poster, suggesting he has no role to play in the upcoming film. But, as the Russo brothers have previously said, Hawkeye’s arc is a “long play.”
That doesn’t confirm or deny his involvement in Avengers: Infinity War, but there’s no denying the character has taken on new life over the past few months. Hawkeye has never been well liked among fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, he’s all people can talk about.
“So I love that people go from ‘Oh, Hawkeye is just lucky to be there’ to ‘Oh where is he? He’s not there? What’s going to happen? We need Hawkeye. We want more Hawkeye.’ I love it. It’s the best,” Feige said.
The Russo brothers added that they wanted to give the original Avengers “their moments” in Avengers: Infinity War. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, the writers went to great lengths to humanize Hawkeye by revealing his family. The “long play” referred to by the Russo brothers will likely continue to explore his life outside of the Avengers, but how it will impact the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe remains to be seen.
We’ll find out when Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27.
