Warning: This article contains spoilers for Hawkeye and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Released on Disney+ over the Christmas season, Hawkeye gave Hailee Steinfeld a promising MCU debut as Kate Bishop, the budding young archer who will inherit the titular Avenger moniker from Clint Barton. Steinfeld made a hilarious foil for Jeremy Renner and perfectly embodied Kate’s unique blend of unwavering heroism and adolescent awkwardness.
Hawkeye simultaneously acted as a bittersweet swansong for Clint’s superhero career and a thrilling origin for Kate’s. In the finale episode, Kate singlehandedly defeated the Kingpin, solidifying her status as the new Hawkeye.
Hawkeye Season 2
Of the five streaming series that Marvel Studios premiered on Disney+ over the past year, What If...? were the only two with additional seasons planned. The other three, including Hawkeye, were conceived as limited series that would tell a complete story from start to finish.
But following the warm reception to the series – and Steinfeld’s performance as Kate in particular – a second season could be on the cards after all. The finale episode saw Clint finally giving his superhero moniker to Kate, so a second season could explore her early days as the new Hawkeye and her attempts to live up to her predecessor’s universe-saving legacy.
Leading The Young Avengers
In the comics, Kate is a key member of the Young Avengers. Over the past few years, the MCU has been gradually setting up its own Young Avengers team. WandaVision.
America Chavez will be introduced in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and both Ms. Marvel and Ironheart are getting their own Disney+ shows. The most likely next chapter for Kate in the MCU is to lead the Young Avengers.
ing The Avengers
In the unlikely event that Kevin Feige has no interest in assembling a Young Avengers team in the MCU, Kate could the main Avengers squad instead. They technically disbanded at the end of Endgame, but Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will surely be back under new leadership at some point.
Kate’s Hawkeye could a new Avengers roster alongside Sam Wilson’s Captain America and Jane Foster’s Thor whenever Marvel Studios dares to follow up Endgame with a fifth Avengers film.
A Team-Up With Spider-Man
Tom Holland is confirmed for at least one more MCU appearance after Avengers 5, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – but whatever it is, it could involve a team-up with Kate Bishop.
Following the reset at the end of No Way Home, the MCU’s Peter Parker is back to his roots as a friendly neighborhood webslinger with no ties to the Avengers. As a fellow street-level wisecracking young vigilante, Kate would make a great partner for the MCU’s Spidey (especially since they both have to become self-sufficient now after losing their mothers, one to prison and one to the Green Goblin’s glider).
Taking Down The Kingpin’s Criminal Empire
The final two episodes of Hawkeye saw the long-awaited return of Vincent D’Onofrio as the MCU’s Kingpin, the gangland leader of New York’s criminal underworld. In the finale, Kate singlehandedly fought the Kingpin in a toy store and, after being effortlessly thrown around for a while, managed to use a trick arrow to defeat him.
The Kingpin’s final scene with Maya left his fate ambiguous. Whether he’s alive or not, his criminal empire is still up and running, so Kate could focus her efforts on bringing it down.
A Cameo In Captain America 4
After Sam Wilson officially became the new Cap in Civil War, acted as more of an Avengers movie as a vast ensemble of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes came into the fold to squabble over the Sokovia Accords.
If Captain America 4 culminates in Sam putting together a second Avengers Initiative and seeking new heroes for the team, Steinfeld could have a cameo as a freshly recruited Kate, eager to start avenging.
A Team-Up With Yelena Belova
While Hawkeye mainly focused on Kate’s mentor-mentee dynamic with Clint, it also developed a memorable back-and-forth between Kate and Yelena Belova. At one point during their mid-fight bickering, a frustrated Kate hilariously tells Yelena, “Stop making me like you!”
The MCU’s previous Hawkeye and Black Widow shared a close friendship, so it would be appropriate for their successors to team up – especially since Steinfeld’s on-screen chemistry with Florence Pugh is so much fun.
A ing Role In Jessica Jones Season 4
With the return of D’Onofrio’s Kingpin in Hawkeye and Charlie Cox’s Daredevil in Spider-Man: No Way Home, Marvel Studios is gradually canonizing all the Netflix shows that were canceled in one fell swoop when Disney announced its own streaming service. As a street-level New York vigilante, Kate would be perfect for the Netflix-verse in Hell’s Kitchen.
If Marvel brings back Jessica Jones for a fourth season, Steinfeld’s Kate could appear alongside Krysten Ritter as a wisecracking sidekick. Jones has acted as a close friend and mentor to Kate in the comics and Ritter’s dry take on the character would make a hilarious foil for Steinfeld’s enthusiastic portrayal of Kate.
A Solo Movie
Clint’s incarnation of Hawkeye never got a solo movie, and when he did anchor his own MCU project – his self-titled Disney+ series – it revolved around ing on the torch to his successor.
Now that a new hero has taken up the mantle of Hawkeye, she could get a solo movie instead. Steinfeld has proven with acclaimed performances in The Edge of Seventeen that she’s more than capable of carrying a movie.
Another Team-Up With Clint Barton
Some Marvel fans expected the Hawkeye series to kill off Clint Barton. MCU mentor figures like Yinsen, Dr. Erskine, and the Ancient One tend to die like Ben Kenobi to motivate the hero to complete their journey and save the day, so Clint was expected to die to motivate Kate.
In the end, he didn’t die and instead accepted Kate as his new partner, so they might be primed for another team-up in the future. Steinfeld and Renner’s on-screen chemistry is too great to only use for one season of television.