Hawkeye Star Treads Carefully When Asked About Marvel's Young Avengers Plans (original) (raw)

Hawkeye star Hailee Steinfeld chose her words carefully when asked about Marvel's potential Young Avengers plans with studio head Kevin Feige present.

At a Hawkeye press conference attended by CBR, Steinfeld -- who plays the new Hawkeye, Kate Bishop -- was asked by the moderator how excited she was to join the "new group of Young Avengers" seemingly being set up in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Steinfeld, who seemed unsure of how to respond to the question, turned to look at Feige, who was equally tight-lipped.

This brief, non-verbal interaction between the actor and producer not only caused the audience in attendance to laugh, but also caught the attention of social media. A photo showcasing the look on Feige's face when Steinfeld turned to look at him amassed over 15,000 likes and 2,000 retweets on Twitter before being deleted.

Steinfeld did ultimately field the question, however. "I mean, listen, I-- this feels so crazy to me right now, just sitting here with this group of people," she explained. "I'm so grateful to be a part of this, this show and this universe. And it's only the beginning -- this show's not even out. So, I'm looking forward to that day."

To the moderator's point, Marvel Studios has certainly been introducing a lot of characters from Marvel Comics' Young Avengers books to the MCU as of late. The 2015 film Ant-Man marked the live-action debut of Cassie Lang (Abby Ryder Fortson), the daughter of Scott Lang/Ant-Man (Paul Rudd). Fortson subsequently reprised her role in 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp. In the comics, Cassie eventually goes on to follow in her father's footsteps, joining the Young Avengers as the size-changing superhero Stature.

A teenaged Cassie, played by Emma Fuhrmann, made a brief appearance in 2019's Avengers: Endgame following the film's five-year timeskip. Cassie is set to return in the 2023 film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, with Kathryn Newton taking over the role.

Marvel Studios' first Disney+ original series WandaVision, which premiered earlier this year, featured two more characters Young Avengers fans are sure to be familiar with: Billy Maximoff/Wiccan and Tommy Maximoff/Speed (also known as Billy Kaplan and Tommy Shepherd, respectively). WandaVision was followed up by The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, which introduced yet another comic book Young Avenger in the form of Elijah "Eli" Bradley. Known in the comics as Patriot, Eli Bradley is the grandson of Isaiah Bradley, the first Black Captain America.

A much more recent addition to Marvel Comics' Young Avengers lineup, America Chavez/Ms. America is also joining the MCU in the near future. Played by Xochitl Gomez, the character is set to debut in the upcoming film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which premieres in theaters next year.

Finally, we come to Disney+'s Hawkeye, which will soon mark the MCU debut of Kate Bishop, Clint Barton's successor as Hawkeye from the original comics. Created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung, Kate first appeared in 2005's Young Avengers #1. Following her initial appearance, Kate would go on to join the titular team as the new Hawkeye, eventually serving as co-leader alongside the aforementioned Patriot.

The live-action Hawkeye series largely takes its cues from writer Matt Fraction and artist David Aja's acclaimed run on Marvel's Hawkeye title, following Clint (Jeremy Renner) as he trains Kate (Steinfeld) to take up the mantle. The show also stars Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez, who is set to get her own spinoff in the form of Echo. Whether or not Steinfeld will reprise her role as Kate for some sort of Young Avengers project remains to be seen.

Marvel Studios' Hawkeye premieres Nov. 24 on Disney+.