Hailee Steinfeld is officially joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while the rest of Hawkeye's cast has been found.
After over a year of rumors and speculation, Hailee Steinfeld has finally been confirmed to be playing Kate Bishop in the Disney+ Hawkeye series! Set pictures from a week ago showed Steinfeld with Jeremy Renner as they began filming the series together, but Kevin Feige himself confirmed the casting and debuted the first image of Bishop (above) at Marvel's Walt Disney Investor's Day presentation two days ago. He also confirmed the casting of Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop, Kate's mother, Fra Fee as Kazi, and newcomer Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez/Echo, a deaf Native American heroine who is often seen with Daredevil in the comics. Finally, Florence Pugh will be reprising her role as Yelena Belova from the upcoming Black Widow movie.
Kate Bishop is a skilled archer and wealthy socialite from Manhattan. Her father is a shady businessman and the two have a complicated relationship, although I wouldn't be surprised if her mother will be taking on the more prominent parental role in the series since she's being played by an actress of Vera Farmiga's caliber. Steinfeld was reported to be in talks for Hawkeye as early as September 2019, but encountered scheduling issues due to her non-compete clause with Apple TV+ for Dickinson. At one point, Marvel was said to have given up and began looking at other actresses for the part, but the COVID-19 pandemic delaying production on Hawkeye allowed Steinfeld to take the role. She looks incredible in set pictures and fits Kate's character design perfectly. I'm sure she's going to be an incredible Hawkeye going forward!
The Direct exclusively reported Florence Pugh's unexpected return, which was later confirmed by Variety. Yelena Belova appearing in Hawkeye isn't something that anyone saw coming, especially since Black Widow is set in the aftermath of Captain America: CIvil War in mid-to-late 2016. Given that Yelena wears the green vest first seen on Natasha Romanoff in Avengers: Infinity War, there have been two main assumptions regarding her character's fate at the end of Black Widow. Yelena dying in a heroic sacrifice has been a popular fan theory, as her death would inspire Natasha to wear her vest and dye her hair blonde as a tribute to her fallen sister when she goes on the run in Infinity War. The other theory is that Yelena survives and is recruited into the Thunderbolts by Thaddeus Ross, who has been seen in Black Widow trailers and is rumored to appear in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. This second theory is supported by statements made by Scarlett Johansson and director Cate Shortland, who have described Black Widow as a film that "passes the baton" to a new hero. Pugh joining Hawkeye confirms the second theory, as set pictures have shown that the series is set in late 2024 or early 2025. The Direct also states that Yelena will be wearing a Ronin-inspired costume in the series, which Kevin Feige has previously said will explore Clint Barton's time as Ronin during the Blip. Is it possible that Yelena and Clint met in Japan before the events of Avengers: Endgame? Regardless of Yelena's role in the series, it's great that we'll be seeing a Black Widow in Hawkeye, even if it's not Natasha.
With Hailee Steinfeld looking amazing as Kate Bishop in set pictures and the return of Yelena Belova, Hawkeye has rapidly climbed up my list of most-anticipated Phase Four projects in the last two weeks. While I still have very little interest in exploring Clint Barton in a solo story, I'm excited to see his time as Ronin in greater detail and seeing him interact with three brand-new female heroes is going to be a lot of fun. I can't wait until we get more glimpses of Kate Bishop and hopefully we see Florence Pugh in set pictures soon!
Hawkeye begins streaming exclusively on Disney+ in late 2021.