How Hawkeye’s Last-Minute Rewrites Completely Changed The Show Revealed By Writer

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Clint Barton, played by Jeremy Renner, is an incredibly skilled archer, but the Disney+ series Hawkeye constantly presented him with shifting goals and challenges.

The character Hawkeye received his own six-episode series in 2021. The show follows his attempt to return home to his family by Christmas, all while grappling with the consequences of his past as the vigilante Ronin. It also introduces new characters like Kate Bishop, Maya Lopez/Echo, and Jack Duquense/Swordsman, and brings back the villain Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. Although the show was popular, early ideas considered a much grimmer tone, focusing on Clint Barton’s emotional struggles as Ronin instead of the lighter, more festive Christmas story it ultimately became.

During an appearance on The Watch podcast, Hawkeye writer Andrew Guest shared that he was brought in to completely rework the series just a week and a half before filming started. Producer Trinh Tran contacted him after a recommendation from Avengers: Endgame co-director Joe Russo. According to Guest, Tran called him almost immediately, explaining she’d send him the scripts for six hour-long episodes and wanted to meet the next day to discuss a full rewrite, as production in New York was scheduled to begin very soon.

The guest explained they joined the project very late in the process, after a writers’ room had already done its work and the show had been revised multiple times. They felt like a last resort. Despite the constant changes to the story of Hawkeye at Marvel, there was a prevailing attitude of ‘we can fix things as we go,’ and that was certainly true for this show. You can find more details about how the story evolved below.

Hailee Steinfeld’s character felt too immature for the story. This made the connection with Jeremy Renner’s character feel weak. Plus, the plot had unnecessary complications that slowed things down.

The late changes made to the character of Kate, her relationship with Clint, and the removal of some plot surprises seem to have paid off, as Hawkeye received high marks from both critics (92%) and audiences (88%) on Rotten Tomatoes. Even five years later, it’s still considered one of the stronger Marvel TV shows. It also helped create the groundwork for the Echo series and Daredevil: Born Again, both of which heavily feature the character of Fisk. Plus, Kate Bishop reappeared after the credits of The Marvels, where Ms. Marvel recruited her to join a new superhero team – hinting at a future Young Avengers project, either as a movie or a show.

Even though some parts of the story were changed, the Disney+ series Hawkeye still has several surprising plot points. These include the appearance of Wilson Fisk (Kingpin) as the main villain, the revelation that Kate Bishop’s mother, Eleanor (Vera Farmiga), is working with him, and Fisk deceiving Maya Lopez about who was really behind her father, William Lopez’s (Zahn McClarnon), death.

Although a second season of Hawkeye didn’t happen, writer Eric Pearson went on to create the MCU series Wonder Man. He served as showrunner and co-created the show with Destin Daniel Cretton, who previously directed Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Like Hawkeye, Wonder Man has received very positive reviews, with many appreciating its realistic and engaging story in a landscape of typical superhero content. It currently boasts a 91% critics score and an 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

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2026-02-28 22:48