Marvel producer teases Clint Barton/Kate Bishop dynamic in ‘Hawkeye’ show

Marvel Studios’ Trinh Tran discusses the relationship between Clint Barton and Kate Bishop in the upcoming Hawkeye series.

Things are going to change for Clint Barton when he takes on a young protégée, Kate Bishop, in Marvel’s Hawkeye. While the two do share similarities, they also have key differences, which will make it interesting when they meet for the first time.

Marvel Studios producer Trinh Tran spoke with Screen Rant about her work on the upcoming Disney Plus limited series and is excited about handling the two heroes. She relishes the prospect of introducing a young, female character in Kate while further exploring the human elements of Clint:

"“I wanted to see the birth of a hero story for a young female. As we were talking about the future of Marvel after Infinity Saga ends – what are the new characters, and what are the properties that we want to tell – this one spoke to me because I was so fascinated by her. By the rich comic resources we had, and by the fact that, if you look at our original six, Clint is just a human.”"

It’s still early days for Hawkeye and, as such, Tran, writer Jonathan Igla and the rest of the creative team are still figuring out the characters’ relationship:

"“We’re still exploring that. We are working on the story right now, and it’s really exciting, so I can’t confirm anything just yet.”"

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Tran likes that “they’re both humans, just like any one of us” and don’t have superhuman abilities. Despite having that in common, there are still plenty of ways in which they differ, especially when it comes to Clint’s experience as a hero and Kate’s initial lack of knowledge about saving people:

"“But I think, when you get somebody who’s so experienced and has been at the level of an Avenger with somebody who is starting out and knows nothing about the world, that alone creates such a fun dynamic. Tonally, if you look at the Fraction run and what they’re like together, it’s exciting if we can strive to get to that.”"

Matt Fraction’s Hawkeye, which will have a heavy influence on the series, established a complex bond between Barton and Bishop. Aside from being an unlikely father/daughter relationship, it’s also one built on the respect between two people. And it should be compelling to watch Clint, a man with his fair share of imperfections, train Kate to be an even better archer and person.

We can assume the show will conclude with Kate succeeding Clint as Hawkeye, before she likely jumps to the big screen like Disney Plus’ other Marvel characters. But before the torch is passed, it will be nice to see the heroes of two generations learn from each other. Hawkeye is expected to stream on Disney Plus in late 2021.