Did Hawkeye just recast [SPOILER] with finale twist?

Hawkeye’s season finale featured a surprising change to one major character’s arc, hinting at something of a recast or a variant in the MCU.

Hawkeye has lit up TV screens over this past month like the Christmas trees have lit up New York City on the show.

The most recent of five Marvel Cinematic Universe shows, it saw Clint Barton team up with new hero Kate Bishop as the pair tried to get to the bottom of the Kingpin’s business in the city. Meanwhile, Clint was committed to protecting Kate (while also making sure he returned home to his family before Christmas) and closing the book on the Ronin chapter in his life, but amid all of that mystery, there was another one.

That mystery had to do with the secret watch that Clint was also trying to track down with the help of his wife Laura Barton. As viewers wondered who the watch actually belonged to, theories ran wild online.

The season finale of Hawkeye premiered on Disney Plus this week and it may have given fans the answers they were looking for, while also raising plenty more questions.

Is Hawkeye’s Laura Barton really Mockingbird in the MCU?

In the finale, Clint returned the watch to his wife, revealing that it was actually hers. On the back of it, there was the SHIELD symbol, along with “19”. Now, Marvel fans might be familiar with this title, as Agent 19 is an alias/title used by Bobbi Morse, a.k.a. Mockingbird in the comics.

While this might imply that Clint’s wife also has a mysterious backstory, it’s unlikely that Laura Barton is actually Bobbi Morse as that character already exists in long-running MCU spin-off series Agents of SHIELD (in which she was portrayed by Adrianne Palicki). Then again, this also brings up the familiar debate as to whether Agents of SHIELD is canon to the MCU anymore.

While there is speculation online to suggest that she might be a Variant of the character (thank Loki for that one), the most likely option is that this is just a nod to the comic book Mockingbird, leaving fans to wonder what Laura Barton’s life as Agent 19 actually looked like and if we’ll ever get the confirmation as to whether Agents of SHIELD is canon.

All six episodes of Hawkeye season 1 are now available on Disney Plus.

What did you think of the Hawkeye season finale? Do you think we’ll see Mockingbird in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below!