Hawkeye episode 4 spoilers follow.
Hawkeye producer Jonathan Igla has revealed he "begged" Marvel Studios for the cameo in the latest episode.
Fans are looking for every Easter egg in the Disney+ series, especially since there have been hints it could bring back Daredevil star Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk aka the Kingpin of Crime.
However, another expected Marvel character turned up in episode 4, 'Partners, Am I Right', when Clint identified a masked attacker as a member of the Black Widow project.
Related: Hawkeye sets up a secret Avenger's debut that you might have missed
The Widow eventually unmasked herself as the late Natasha Romanoff's sister Yelena Belova, with Florence Pugh reprising her role from the Black Widow film.
What to Read Next
Speaking to Variety about this huge scene, producer Jonathan Igla explained that Marvel Studios agreed to let Yelena cross over into Hawkeye after an impassioned pitch.
"That scene came from Marvel, but it came in response to [us] begging for and making a good case for why Yelena had a place in our story," he said.
The producer went on: "I think what I can safely say about it right now is that there is an obvious connection between Clint's guilt over the loss of his best friend and the other person in the world who cared the most about her."
Yelena's arrival in New York City to take on Hawkeye is a direct follow-up to the post-credit scene in Black Widow, where the prequel moved into the present MCU timeline.
The mysterious Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) visited Yelena at Natasha's grave to tell her Clint is responsible for her sister's death.
That's not true, but Valentine uses the lie to manipulate the assassin for her own purposes. For now, Yelena has come to New York City looking for revenge and that means everyone close to Hawkeye is in danger.
Hawkeye airs new episodes every Wednesday morning on Disney+.
Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
