Hailee Steinfeld in talks to play Kate Bishop in Marvel’s Hawkeye

Hailee Steinfeld is reportedly in talks to join Marvel’s Hawkeye in the lead role of Kate Bishop.

After Avengers: Endgame, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is buckling up for a new era of stories and superheroes. Some heroes will continue their journeys, while others will get to pass on their mantles to new crimefighters. The latter is the case for Hawkeye. After almost ten years of being a relatively small (yet significant) part of the MCU, the witty archer is finally getting his own starring vehicle in the form of Marvel’s Hawkeye, a Disney Plus`TV show that will stream in the fall of 2021.

The show will see Barton taking on Kate Bishop as a young protégé and teaching her to become an archer. For the comic book uninitiated, Kate Bishop debuted in Young Avengers No. 1 in 2005. She idolized Clint Barton from a young age and decided to become a superhero and join the Young Avengers.

She eventually took on the Hawkeye name and went on to become good friends with Clint himself. While she enjoyed great popularity over the years, it wasn’t until she co-starred in Matt Fraction and David Aja’s seminal Hawkeye series that she gained great prominence. Now, ever since the TV show was announced to be in development, there had been a lot of speculation surrounding who would get to play Bishop.

Don’t fret anymore, because we have an answer. According to a report from Variety, Hailee Steinfeld has been approached by Marvel Studios to play Kate Bishop.

While not much else is known about her possible involvement in the show, The Hollywood Reporter further clarified the actress is in early discussions to tackle the role.

It’s important to keep in mind that the deal isn’t yet official. After all, we’ve seen some other actors being in talks for different superhero roles at various points over the years (perhaps most notably Joaquin Phoenix for Doctor Strange) to ultimately part ways with the projects. Having said that, when it’s reported by the trades, the deals more often than not end up going through, which means Steinfeld joining the MCU is a likely scenario.

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Steinfeld is no stranger to the blockbuster scene. In 2018, she starred in Bumblebee, a Transformers spinoff that centered around Optimus Prime’s right-hand robot, Bumblebee, landing on Earth and befriending a girl named Charlie Watson, played by Steinfeld. Also in 2018, she lent her voice to Gwen Stacy/Spider-Gwen in Sony’s hit animated adventure, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.

Despite her relative newness to the Marvel Universe, Bishop has become one of the company’s most beloved characters among comic book circles thanks to her sarcastic personality, wit and remarkable fighting abilities.

Steinfeld is a versatile actress, and she’ll undoubtedly convey those traits perfectly. What’s most exciting about Bishop’s introduction to the MCU is her potential. Unlike the Marvel Netflix shows, Disney Plus’ Marvel Studios series will play a pivotal role in the cinematic side of the MCU moving forward, as evidenced by WandaVision tying into Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Loki spring-boarding off what happened during the events of Avengers: Endgame.

Given that, Kate Bishop will undoubtedly  be introduced into the big screen side of the MCU eventually, which makes the possibilities of her role in the franchise quite exciting.

Marvel’s Hawkeye is expected to drop on Disney Plus in the fall of 2021. If you want to see more of Hailee Steinfeld, she’ll next appear in Netflix’s Between Two Ferns: The Movie, which drops on September 20, 2019. She’ll also star as Emily Dickinson in Apple TV+’s Dickinson.