Marvel star Jeremy Renner has explained why he thinks it's "way better" to continue the story of his Avengers character in a six-part series rather than a movie.
Ahead of the Disney+ release of Hawkeye on November 24, the actor – who has played the titular Clint Barton since 2011 – recalled how happy he was when Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige approached him about doing a show.
"I thought it [was] a way better in, and it could really open up the world a bit," Renner told Digital Spy. "It allows for more humour, more darkness, more everything. And also for more characters to be introduced to the universe. So I think that was really brilliant work."
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When asked whether he'd ever anticipated Hawkeye being centred in his own stories, having been a supporting player within the existing MCU titles he's been a part of, Renner joked that it's "above my paygrade" to make decisions over who gets the spotlight and when.
"I don't think really too far in the future," he admitted. "I was happy when we started discussing the format of how to share the show, and maybe we had some ideas about it.
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"I got really hooked on the initial logline in the pitch. I was very, very excited to explore more of the character, always, because I love the character a lot," continued Renner.
Related: Hailee Steinfeld reveals her father helped her train for Hawkeye
"I identify a lot with the character. I think being able to be in the world that we're in is just a great platform to express all the cool bits of what superheroism is, and then you get a partner to help express that to kids. I think it's pretty dope."
Created by Jonathan Igla, Hawkeye sees the eponymous archer team up with 22-year-old protégée Kate Bishop (Dickinson's Hailee Steinfeld) to confront his violent past life and return home to his family for Christmas.
Fra Fee, Tony Dalton, Zahn McClarnon, Brian d'Arcy James, Alaqua Cox and The Conjuring star Vera Farmiga also feature, as does Linda Cardellini, who reprises her role as Clint's wife Laura.
Hawkeye premieres its first two episodes on Disney+ on Wednesday, November 24. After it will release new episodes on a weekly basis.
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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
