Marvel Studios' Hawkeye is here and it is bringing something fresh and exciting to the MCU, but like any project, there are definitely inspirations that come into play in helping shape a new setting for fans to get lost in. Director Rhys Thomas revealed some of the films that helped inspire the Marvel series, including classic Christmas movies like Die Hard and Home Alone.
Hawkeye focuses on Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton / Hawkeye post-blip in New York City during the Holidays, as he is forced to team up with the young archer Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) to stop enemies from his past when he was Ronin in Avengers: Endgame. The series joins Iron Man 3 as a rare MCU that property that is set during Christmastime, and it appears some holiday classics were looked to when bringing Hawkeye to life.
In a new interview with Slash Film, Thomas, who is also an executive producer on the series, opened up about where he and many of the writers found inspiration when creating Hawkeye. "Yeah, I sort of took from [Matt] Fraction [and his comic book run.] I really enjoyed the kind of '70s New York texture that he had,'' shared Thomas. "A lot of references, sort of early on when I started pulling images and sharing them with my director of photography, Eric Steelberg, came from everything. From 'Klute' and, I remember, 'Thief' was one and 'Point Blank.' But then 'Léon: The Professional' was a big one when we started defining textures. Obviously, you could go back to the French New Wave as well. So that's the pretentious answer."
"But ultimately, it was really just trying to find portraits of New York and portraits of people that just had a grounded quality to them and that had a real texture of New York as well. And sort of looking at the way that New York is shown in those and an approach to action too. I would also say, on Christmas level, 'Die Hard' and 'Home Alone' were also that," Thomas added. The Die Hard and Home Alone inspirations are most definitely apparent, as the series definitely has a buddy-cop and street-level adventure feel to it mixed with the holiday scenery. In fact, some of the first reactions and reviews praised that aspect of the series, as it feels like a welcome departure from the craziness of the multiverse and deep space that recent MCU projects have been delving deeper into.
Before the series premiered, Hawkeye clips like the one with the Tracksuit Mafia highlighted everything from the dynamic between the series' two leads to the sets. So, the promo material really helped sell the retro '80s and early '90s movie feel that Thomas and the rest of the team were originally striving for.
Created by Mad Men and Bridgerton's Jonathan Igla, Hawkeye also stars Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop, Kate's mother, Tony Dalton as Jack Duquesne, Barton's old mentor, Fra Free as the mercenary Kazi, Alaqua Cox as Maya Lopez/Echo, a deaf character who can perfectly copy others' movements (a spin-off series about her character is already in development), Zahn McClarnon as William Lopez, Maya's father, and other MCU newcomer Florence Pugh as Yelena (who made her debut in Black Widow). Amber Templemore-Finlayson & Katie Ellwood (Bert & Bertie) also serve as directors.
Hawkeye's first two episodes are now available to stream on Disney Plus.
Source: Slash Film