Jeremy Renner praises ‘Hawkeye’ co-star Hailee Steinfeld

Mumbai, Nov 24 (IANS): Marvel Studios’ has landed the arrow right on target with ‘Hawkeye’. The miniseries that premiered on Disney+ Hotstar Wednesday, follows the story of Clint Barton as he teams up with his greatest fan and protege, Kate Bishop, to tackle the outlaws in the post-Blip New York City.

The series which follows the events after the ‘Avengers: Endgame’, borrows heavily from Matt Fraction and David Aja’s comic run ‘Hawkeye’.

The starcast and creators of the series recently shared their experiences from the shoot and their choices with regards to their characters and the show. Jeremy Renner, who reprises the titular role, praised his co-star Hailee Steinfeld in the series and was impressed by her preparedness.

He said, “She came in very, very prepared, she was ready. While it’s pretty awesome. (Though) It’s pretty sad that it makes me feel old that I see a lot of people come in and see a lot of people go (in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), I’m, like, a grandpa (laughs)”.

For Hailee, who plays Kate Bishop, the series is very special as it allowed her to be a part of the MCU. Responding to what drew her to this character, the actress said, “I really did feel like playing this character, it sort of forced me to find a confidence, a determination and discipline that has always been inside me, but I really had to really bring it out of myself for this and do justice to this character. I feel so lucky to be playing a character that is loved by so many.”

The show’s narrative revolves around the holiday time, when probed about the reason behind such a creative choice, director Rhys Thomas said, “A character like Clint just trying to live his life and the trouble is coming to find him. It’s a trope I think. Setting it at Christmas time allows that clash of family time with business time, it’s a classic combo.”

Revealing the reason behind saying ‘yes’ to her character in the series, Vera Farmiga, who plays Kate’s mother, said, “A couple of things, number one, I love archery, I’m an archer. You guys don’t know this about me, my first job I played an archer with Heath Ledger in a series called ‘Roar’, where I had my bow and arrow and I had my 40-pound pull-weight arrow. So if I wasn’t gonna be wielding that bow and arrow, I just wanted to be next to someone with true grit.”

Clint Barton not just teams up with Kate but also guides her through the course of the show’s journey.

Commenting on the inherent mentor in Barton, Kevin Feige, President Marvel Studios, said, “The character’s history is vast. There are moments within all of Jeremy’s appearances where you see this mentor under the surface. The reluctant hero, the reluctant mentor.”

“One of my favourite scenes in all of our films is the scene with Clint and Wanda in Sokovia, when he basically says, ‘You go out that door, you’re an Avenger’ and motivates to join the fight. And that was the kernel of how we could connect our MCU incarnation of Clint Barton into the Matt Fraction storyline and the relationship with Kate Bishop,” he added.

‘Hawkeye’ directed by Rhys Thomas and Bert & Bertie, is available to stream on Disney+ Hotstar in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.