Development By September 2018,
Marvel Studios was developing several limited series for its parent company
Disney's streaming service,
Disney+, to be centered on supporting characters from the
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
films who had not starred in their own films. By April 2019, an adventure series starring
Jeremy Renner as his MCU film character
Clint Barton / Hawkeye was in development. Barton was expected to bequeath the mantle of Hawkeye to a new character,
Kate Bishop, in the series. Marvel Studios president
Kevin Feige was set to produce the limited series, which would run for six to eight episodes. Feige officially announced
Hawkeye at
San Diego Comic-Con in July 2019. Renner originally signed on to star in a standalone feature film focused on his character, but agreed to star in a series instead after Feige decided to redevelop the project for Disney+; Marvel Studios believed a series allowed them to explore Barton's backstory, introduce Bishop, and develop the two characters' dynamic—which was popular with fans of
Marvel Comics—all of which would have been restricted by a film's two-hour runtime.
Jonathan Igla was revealed to be the series'
head writer in September 2019.
Amy Berg had also been a contender for the role. In July 2020,
Rhys Thomas was hired to direct three episodes of the series and serve as an executive producer, with filmmaking duo
Bert & Bertie hired to direct the other three episodes. In late November 2020, executive producer
Trinh Tran asked MCU film director
Joe Russo for help in finding a new head writer for the series. He connected her to
Andrew Guest, and Tran explained to Guest that Marvel Studios was looking to rewrite the entire series approximately a week out from the start of filming. After reviewing the six episodes that had already been written, Guest provided feedback on what was working and started writing "around the clock" to provide new material that could be used to shape the series during filming. Marvel Studios' Feige,
Louis D'Esposito,
Victoria Alonso, Tran, and
Brad Winderbaum executive produced alongside Igla and Thomas. Guest was credited as a consulting producer. Budgets for each of the six episodes were reported to be as much as $25 million. Around the series' release, commentators speculated that a potential second season could be made focusing on Bishop. Though the series was originally intended to be a limited series, Marvel Studios did not classify it as such during its awards campaign and home media release which led to further speculation about the possibility of a second season being made. When asked about another season, Thomas said he could not talk about future plans but he was open to returning. Renner was asked about a second season in May 2024, following rumors that one was in development with a reduced role for Barton. The actor said he was open to playing Barton again after recovering from
a serious accident in 2023, but he had not discussed another season with Marvel and was focused on other projects. Guest later stated that he was involved in discussions about a potential second season at one point, but it did not come together due to timing issues. In February 2025, Winderbaum gave
Hawkeye as an example of an MCU limited series that Marvel felt could be given a second season, and said they were "looking for opportunities to do that". He felt Barton, Bishop, and the series' Christmas setting could be revisited at any point. That May, Renner said he had been approached about a second season but he turned down Marvel Studios' offer for half his first-season salary. Renner believed the reduced offer was due to his accident and said he would have returned if he was offered his first season salary. He said in July, "I'm sure we'll end up doing [a second season of
Hawkeye]" alongside other projects with him reprising the role, which he was happy to do and felt physically ready for.
Writing Elisa Climent, Katie Mathewson, Tanner Bean, Erin Cancino, Heather Quinn, and Jenna Noel Frazier serve as writers on the series. Quinn served as the on-set writer during filming. When officially announcing the series, Feige and Renner said the series would follow Barton as he teaches Bishop to be a "superhero without superpowers", and would explore more of Barton's time as the vigilante
Ronin that was first established in the MCU film
Avengers: Endgame (2019). In October 2019, Tran said the series would explore Barton's past, and confirmed that the mantle of Hawkeye would be passed to Bishop. Igla hoped the series would show a more humorous side of the character while further exploring his mentorship role from previous appearances.
Hawkeye is influenced by
Matt Fraction's run with the character in the comics, and adapts elements such as
Lucky the Pizza Dog, a
golden retriever who is a companion to Barton and Bishop; the
Tracksuit Mafia; and Barton's hearing loss. Igla declared himself a fan of that title, which he read while working on the television series
Mad Men (2007–2015), for its approach in telling what a superhero does in his off days, as well as a "comforting and relaxing" nature he likened to the Christmas films from the
Hallmark Channel. The influence was also seen in how Barton has a "lightheartedness" to him that was not seen in his past appearances, and the desire to highlight the "bond and partnership" between him and Bishop, despite Renner's version of the character being different from the comics version, including the banter the two have in Fraction's run. Feige was excited to explore the MCU version of Barton adapted into the tone from Fraction's run, and exploring "What would it be like if he was thrust into that street level, New York City realm?". Fraction served as a consultant for the series, and had planned to make a
cameo appearance as a Tracksuit Mafia member before the
COVID-19 pandemic prevented this.
Hawkeye is set in New York City around the
Christmas season of 2024, one year following the events of
Avengers: Endgame, with Tran noting that many, but not all, of New York's citizens have "recuperated and continued thriving" following
the Blip. Renner described the series as being set in the "current" MCU, while occurring over the course of about a week. Thomas noted that it had been discussed during development to set the series two years after
Endgame in 2025. Further discussing the holiday setting, Tran said it "made sense" to have Barton's story set during that time since he would be focused on spending Christmas with his family after losing them during the Blip, and the "holiday spirit" would provide a "different atmosphere and environment" that would contrast to Barton's serious demeanor. Feige championed the Christmas setting, requesting to lean further into the holiday since, according to Tran, he felt it was "about the festivity of the holiday season and spending time with family". Tran added that the Christmas setting became "kind of like a character in itself" for
Hawkeye.
Casting With the series' official announcement in July 2019, Renner was confirmed to be starring in the series as Barton. By early September 2019,
Hailee Steinfeld had been offered the role of Kate Bishop, but had not yet signed on for the series a month later.
Variety reported one reason for this was a
non-compete clause in her contract with
Apple TV+ for starring in the series
Dickinson (2019–2021), something
Variety felt Steinfeld would be able to negotiate out of. No other actresses had been approached for the role of Bishop. When asked about her starring in the series shortly after, Steinfeld said it was "not something that's necessarily happening", but she was confirmed as Bishop in December 2020. Tran explained that Steinfeld was never out of contention for the role but Marvel Studios was unable to discuss her involvement until the official announcement and had spent the time since the initial reports attempting to work out how the series could be made with Steinfeld while still being ready for release during the 2021 holiday season. Additional cast members also announced in December 2020 were
Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop,
Florence Pugh as
Yelena Belova / Black Widow,
Fra Fee as
Kazimierz "Kazi" Kazimierczak,
Tony Dalton as
Jack Duquesne,
Alaqua Cox as
Maya Lopez / Echo,
Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez, and
Brian d'Arcy James as Derek Bishop. Pugh reprises her role from the MCU film
Black Widow (2021), which has a
post-credits scene in which Belova is tasked by
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine to hunt Barton for his role in her sister
Natasha Romanoff's death. Pugh's Belova was included in the series after Igla suggested it as the "right place for her next chapter", with the series' directors attending an early screening of
Black Widow to better understand Belova.
Devin Grayson and
J. G. Jones, who co-created Belova, had expected to receive $2,000 per episode for her appearance in the series due to a 2007 agreement with
Marvel Comics, but ultimately received $300 per episode due to a provision in the contract which allowed Marvel to reduce creators' payments. Dalton was cast after Tran was impressed with his performance in the series
Better Call Saul (2015–2022). The same month, set photos revealed that Ben Sakamoto, Ava Russo, and Cade Woodward would reprise their respective roles in the series as Barton's children Cooper, Lila, and Nathaniel from previous MCU films.
Linda Cardellini was revealed to be reprising her role as Barton's wife
Laura in October 2021.
Aleks Paunovic and
Piotr Adamczyk also star in the series as Ivan and Tomas, respectively, members of the
Tracksuit Mafia, along with
Simon Callow as Armand Duquesne III, and
Vincent D'Onofrio reprising his role as
Wilson Fisk / Kingpin from the
Marvel Television series
Daredevil (2015–2018). Marvel Studios executives suggested including Kingpin in
Hawkeye, with Feige thinking this would be appropriate due to the character's connections with the NYC underworld in the comics.
Design The series' main title sequence was designed by
Perception. Marvel Studios requested that the first episode feature an opening title sequence to chronicle Bishop's story in the years between her appearances before and after the main titles, while the five other episodes featured main-on-end title sequences. Perception used monochromatic silhouettes to represent different characters and elements, and paid homage to
David Aja's
Hawkeye comic book illustrations.
Filming Filming began in early December 2020 in New York City, with
Rhys Thomas and
Bert & Bertie directing, with
Eric Steelberg and James Whitaker serving as cinematographers. The series was filmed under the working title
Anchor Point. Filming took place in
Downtown Brooklyn including at the
Hoyt–Schermerhorn Streets subway station, and in Manhattan in
Washington Square Park,
Midtown,
Hell's Kitchen, the
East Village, and the
Lotte New York Palace Hotel. Set photos also indicated the series would occur during the Christmas season and feature a Christmas party. Additional filming took place at
Trilith Studios and
Tyler Perry Studios in
Atlanta, Georgia. On February 22, 2021, filming began in downtown
Canton, Georgia for a week, including at the Jones Building, continuing in the area between March 4 and 5. Filming
wrapped on April 21. Reshoots occurred at Stratagem Studios in Toronto, Canada, from September 7 to 9.
Post-production Terel Gibson,
Rosanne Tan, and Tim Roche serve as editors. Visual effects were created by
Industrial Light & Magic,
Luma Pictures, Mr. X, Rise,
Rising Sun Pictures, and
Weta Digital.
Music Christophe Beck was revealed to be composing the score for the series in September 2021, after previously doing so for the MCU films
Ant-Man (2015) and
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), as well as the Marvel Studios miniseries
WandaVision (2021). He was joined by frequent collaborator Michael Paraskevas as co-composer. The score was recorded at
Synchron Stage Vienna. The episodes "
Never Meet Your Heroes" and "
So This Is Christmas?" feature a
musical number from the fictional
Broadway musical Rogers: The Musical titled "
Save the City", centered on the
Battle of New York and written by
Marc Shaiman and
Scott Wittman. It was released as a
single on November 24, and is included on the
Vol. 2 soundtrack for the series. The score for the first three episodes was released on December 10, while the score for the last three episodes was released on December 22. == Marketing ==