Hailee Steinfeld now doubts her Hawkeye role amidst Jeremy Renner scandal

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Back in July during Marvel Studios' grand presentation at San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that a solo series centered around Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye was aiming for a Fall 2021 release on Disney+. At the time that Marvel allowed the news to fly, it was teased that the show would feature Renner's Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, passing the torch to Kate Bishop, another Marvel hero who's seen by many as Barton's equal in every way.

Then in September, reports had surfaced that Marvel was eyeing TRUE GRIT and BUMBLEBEE actress Hailee Steinfeld for the Kate Bishop role. It was at that time when all seemed right with the world. Kate Bishop was poised to inherit the Hawkeye mantle, Renner was on his way out; things were good. However, a recent interview with Steinfeld has revealed that she now has doubts about her Hawkeye role.

While speaking with RadioTimes, Steinfeld confessed that her participation in HAWKEYE might be in question.

“That’s not something that’s necessarily happening,” Steinfeld told RadioTimes when asked if she’s gearing up for her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. “We’re going to wait and find out, I guess,” Steinfeld added.

Now, to be perfectly clear, Steinfeld's comments do not give a precise reason as to why she's now unsure of her Hawkeye role. Furthermore, she makes no mention of Renner's recent legal troubles whatsoever. With that being said, I ask that you take the following with a Hul-sized grain of salt.

I however can't help but wonder if it has something (or everything) to do with the recent allegations thrown at Avengers alum Jeremy Renner. In recent times, Renner's ex-wife, Sonni Pacheco, accused Renner of exhibiting disturbing behavior, going so far as to say that he's been abusive to her as well as their daughter, Ava. The allegations come as part of an in-progress custody battle for sole custody of their daughter, and have yet to be substantiated by a court of law.

The supposed details of Renner's actions are a bit muddy at this time, though Pacheco alleged that Renner bit Ava, who was 4 at the time, in April of 2017. According to a series of emails that were included in the court filing, Renner claimed that the bruise on his daughter's shoulder was from where a seatbelt had pinched her because it was too tight. As a response, Pacheco claimed, “When… putting some ointment on her owie, Ava told me you bit her there.” The documents allege that Renner responded, “Ha. No. We do a nibble game called Ava burrito. Haha. But not a bite. Tell her she’s spicy. And the game ensues. Haha. Nibble game are fake nibbles.” Following the allegation, a rep for Renner labed Pacheco's claims as “categorically not true and another straight-out character assassination made by Ms. Pacheco and her attorney.” No ruling has been passed on Renner's supposed actions at this time.

Earlier this month, new court documents revealed that Pacheco is accussing Renner of of threatening to kill her and himself. As detailed by the filings, Pacheco maintains that after a night of hard partying last November, including drinking and cocaine use, Renner returned home where he allegedly threatened her with a gun and put the gun in his mouth. He reportedly said at the time that he “could not deal with her anymore, and he just wanted to be gone.” In another instance, Pacheco says, a nanny overheard Renner say he planned to kill her and himself because “it was better that Ava had no parents than to have [Pacheco] as a mother.” (via DailyBeast)

Could it be that Disney wishes to quietly cut ties with Renner, and that's why the HAWKEYE series now sounds like it's in jeopardy? I suppose that we'll have to wait for the courts to complete their investigation, though this wouldn't be the first time that negative stories about members of the Marvel family have been the cause of a project being placed on hold.

Kate Bishop was created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, and made her Marvel debut in April of 2005 thanks to the pages of Young Avengers #1. After leaving the supergroup, Kate teamed with Clint for a number of sharp-shooting shenanigans courtesy of Marvel's Hawkeye from creators Matt Fraction and David Aja. With her fan-favorite status firmly established, Kate moved West to open her own private detective agency under the pen of Kelly Thompson. After two stellar arcs of the series, Thompson re-introduced Kate as the leader of the West Coast Avengers.

In addition to being a savvy slinger of arrows, Kate is also an adept fencer, swordswoman, martial artist, boxer, and other forms of hand-to-hand combat. She's also snarky as can be and is never afraid to pull a biting one-liner from her trusty quiver.

My hope is that Marvel sorts out whatever is going on, and that Steinfeld remains attached to the HAWKEYE series. I can't think of anyone else who would do the character as much justice as she would, and I don't think people would care all too much if Renner was replaced by another actor for the show.

Let us know what your thoughts are about this situation in the comments section below.