This New Hawkeye Trailer Will Put You In The Holly Jolly Spirit

Ahead of the release of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier back in March, Renner and Steinfeld create a short video from the Hawkeye set. Although it didn’t show anything from the upcoming series, fans did get an eyeful at how beat up their characters were, promising this would be an action-packed show.

The first official trailer arrived on Sept. 13, 2021, with a huge surprise. Unlike WandaVision or Falcon, Hawkeye was taking a page from Loki and going the comedy route — and not just any comedy route, but the Christmas classic one. It turns out, this November will be the most arrow-filled time of the year.

Make sure to freeze the trailer at the 1:21 mark and check out the still. Hawkeye isn’t just a Christmas love letter to New York City. It also will celebrate Broadway as well with a brand-new Avengers musical called Rogers. Theater kids, this is our time.

The second trailer arrived on Oct. 28, declaring Hawkeye as a six-part event for the holiday season, in which Clint Barton will struggle to save the world, or maybe just New York, or maybe just the holidays, and still be home in time for Christmas. Sorry, Santa.

Marvel has kept much of Hawkeye’s details under wraps so far, including most of the cast. Before filming, the only actor confirmed to star was Jeremy Renner, who played Clint Black, the original Hawkeye from the Avengers films. He revealed at SDCC 2019 that his character would co-star with character Kate Bishop.

It took until after filming began, but Marvel finally confirmed Hailee Steinfeld would play Bishop. In response to the announcement, Steinfeld posted the first official image of herself as Bishop on Instagram.

Along with Steinfeld’s casting, Marvel also confirmed actors Fra Fee, Vera Farmiga, and newcomer Alaqua Cox would be part of the cast. Farmiga plays Eleanor Bishop, Fee is Kazi, and Cox is Maya Lopez, aka Echo. They had first been mentioned as part of the series as part of reports on Dec. 3.

It should be noted that, according to those same reports via Variety, Renner and Steinfeld would share the screen with Florence Pugh, Tony Dalton, and Zahn McClarnon. The outlet reports Pugh will reprise her MCU role as Yelena Belova. Though Marvel did not comment on this casting speculation, the mid-credits scene in Black Widow all but confirmed that Pugh will be back, possibly on a quest for vengeance driven by Renner’s Hawkeye returning from Vormir, while her sister Natasha didn’t.

Moreover, fans also learned someone else might be heading to Hawkeye: Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine. The character, which the MCU introduced in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier when she recruited John Walker’s U.S. Agent character, returned in Black Widow’s final scene with a mission for Yelena. Whether or not she will appear in Hawkeye as well remains to be seen, but it sure feels like the comic’s ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is on a recruitment mission not unlike Nick Fury’s a decade ago.

But the most important character? Lucky The Pizza Dog. The character has now appeared in multiple trailers and posters. Lucky’s name had initially been Arrow in the comics, and he was the trained pup of antagonist Ivan Banionis. But he turned on Ivan and saved Hawkeye after Clint was friendly to him. Unfortunately, the choice to turn to the good guys cost Lucky his eye. But Clint saved him, renamed him Lucky, and adopted him as a superhero’s best friend. Fans are hopeful the introduction of Lucky in Hawkeye might carry over into more Marvel projects, as the Avengers really could use a goodest boy.

Kate Bishop’s story is out of the Hawkeye comics, so fans assume the show will follow the broad outlines of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s series. In it, Barton finds himself taking Bishop under his wing, training her to be the next Hawkeye. Moreover, Black Widow suggests Yelena’s role will be that of the villain, attempting to take out at least one Hawkeye, if not two.

But the teaser trailer revealed a much different flavor than fans initially expected. Instead of an action-adventure, dark-and-gritty Hawkeye series in the flavor of Ronin, the series is a holiday-themed action-comedy. Kate Bishop is a Hawkeye wannabe, but she’s not there yet, and her antics (and failures) are played for laughs as she learns the ropes of being the World’s Greatest Archer. Hopefully, this means the entire cast will get to stretch their comedy chops, including Florence Pugh, who was Black Widow’s secret comedy weapon.

Here’s the show’s official synopsis: “Former Avenger Clint Barton has a seemingly simple mission: get back to his family for Christmas. Possible? Maybe with the help of Kate Bishop, a 22-year-old archer with dreams of becoming a Super Hero. The two are forced to work together when a presence from Barton’s past threatens to derail far more than the festive spirit.”

Marvel confirmed Hawkeye is slated to arrive just in time for the holiday season, beginning the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Nov. 24, 2021, on Disney+.