2013’s Iron Man 3 gave us Lethal Weapon, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang writer Shane Black’s official take on the MCU. Now, almost a decade later, Marvel’s Hawkeye seems to be giving us the unofficial take—a redundant “What If… Shane Black Joined the MCU” in series form and headed to Disney+. Have a look with the show’s first trailer.
Ticking all the Black pastiche boxes, Hawkeye is a mismatched buddy action-comedy two-hander set in the Christmas season. Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, gettin’ too old for this shit, is hoping to spend the holiday with his family. But when a mysterious figure in a costume akin to his Endgame Ronin getup turns up in New York City, vengeful criminals start coming out of the wordwork, forcing the Avenger to investigate.
Turns out, Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop is also an archery enthusiast, and she’s taking on the Hawkeye mantle. So now Clint Barton is stuck spending his Yuletide mentoring and teaming with his unasked-for protégé as they fight some goons.
As easy as it is to be cynical about the endless churn of Disney+ Marvel series, much of the scruffy, affable charms of Matt Fraction and David Aja’s acclaimed Hawkeye comic book run appears to have been captured here. Just a shame that their profits from this will likely be that Fraction gets a cameo where Kate shoots an arrow through a hot dog he was about to eat.
Hawkeye premieres November 24.
