In addition to exploring new corners of the Marvel universe, each MCU project takes inspiration from a handful of cinematic classics. Loki director Kate Herron was influenced by Se7en and Blade Runner. Eternals director Chloé Zhao was influenced by Prometheus and The Notebook. And Hawkeye director Rhys Thomas, it seems, has been heavily inspired by the Lethal Weapon franchise.

Directed by Richard Donner, who had previously inspired audiences with Superman and terrified them with The Omen, the wildly popular Lethal Weapon movies went a long way toward making the “buddy cop” subgenre a mainstay in action cinema. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover starred as Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, respectively. Riggs is a renegade young detective who refuses to play by the rules, while Murtaugh is a veteran by-the-book lawman on the brink of retirement. In the 1987 original, the two were reluctantly paired up to chase a heroin smuggler and ultimately became the best of friends.

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There had been “buddy cop” movies prior to Lethal Weapon. James Fargo’s The Enforcer saw Clint Eastwood’s iconic rulebreaker “Dirty” Harry Callahan taking Tyne Daly’s bright-eyed rookie Kate Moore under his wing. Walter Hill’s 48 Hrs. saw Nick Nolte’s gruff, strait-laced detective partnering with Eddie Murphy’s fast-talking, street-smart temporarily released convict to track down his elusive partner-in-crime.

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover holding handguns in Lethal Weapon

But unlike these classic buddy actioners, Lethal Weapon provided a blueprint for other filmmakers to riff on. It did for “buddy cop” films what John Carpenter’s seminal low-budget horror masterpiece Halloween did for slashers. It took the framework of a handful of existing classics and bolstered that framework with recognizable tropes and conventions that directors would openly emulate for decades to come.

Mismatched “buddy cop” duos have been a recurring theme throughout Marvel’s Disney+ content. Sam and Bucky’s action-packed bickering harked back to Midnight Run. Loki and Mobius’ timeline-crossing banter felt like a throwback to The X-Files. And based on the tantalizing Hawkeye trailer, Clint Barton’s back-and-forth with his excitable new protégé Kate Bishop could call back to Riggs and Murtaugh.

Riggs and Murtaugh at a hot dog stand in Lethal Weapon

By including footage of Clint’s dark days as “Ronin” from Avengers: Endgame, the Hawkeye trailer signifies that the character’s past misdeeds will weigh heavily on him throughout the series. This portrayal of a superpowered antihero at the end of his road has drawn parallels with Logan, the bittersweet finale for Hugh Jackman’s on-screen portrayal of Wolverine, but it’s also similar to Glover’s performance as a jaded crimefighter who’s “getting too old for this s***” in the Lethal Weapon series.

The influence of Lethal Weapon can be seen in more than just Hawkeye’s central dynamic. The show’s trailer makes a point of highlighting its Christmas setting. Snowfall drapes each shot. Clint rides a zipline past the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. He and Kate have an arrow-based shootout with some bad guys on an ice-skating rink. At first glance, Hawkeye’s yuletide setting may seem like a nod to John McTiernan’s Die Hard.

Murtaugh speaking on the phone in Lethal Weapon

When most moviegoers think of Christmas-themed action, John McClane’s hellish night at Nakatomi Plaza is usually the first thing that comes to mind. But Lethal Weapon beat Die Hard to the punch by a whole year. Before Die Hard sparked decades of debate about whether it’s a Christmas movie in the summer of 1988, Lethal Weapon set its own gun-toting spectacle against the backdrop of the holiday season in the spring of 1987.

Although it hasn’t been the subject of as many heated (and, frankly, redundant) discussions, Lethal Weapon is as much of a Christmas movie as Die Hard. Riggs has a shootout with some drug dealers at a Christmas tree lot, the climactic fight on Murtaugh’s front lawn is illuminated by his Christmas lights, and in the final scene, Riggs enjoys Christmas dinner at the Murtaugh household. Donner’s movie leans way more heavily into the spirit of Christmas than McTiernan’s. Outside of the office Christmas party, Die Hard doesn’t have a lot to do with Christmas at all.

Riggs and Murtaugh in the firing range in Lethal Weapon

Since he got his start as the creator of the Lethal Weapon franchise, Christmas has become a staple of screenwriter Shane Black’s work. Black used the holiday as a backdrop in subsequent movies like The Long Kiss Goodnight, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys (all of which fall into the “buddy cop” category that he helped to create), and his own contribution to the MCU, Iron Man 3. In the case of Black’s work – and, hopefully, also in the case of Hawkeye – the Christmas setting is more than just a kitschy gimmick. The familiar yuletide iconography gives the story a relatable, recognizable context.

Story-wise, Hawkeye seems awfully similar to the other Phase Four narratives that MCU fans have been treated to. Black Widow concerned Yelena Belova taking on Natasha Romanoff’s Avenger moniker, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier concerned Sam Wilson taking on Steve Rogers’ Avenger moniker, and now, Hawkeye will concern Kate taking on Clint’s Avenger moniker. But the “buddy cop” dynamic and Christmas setting, seemingly referencing the Lethal Weapon franchise, will hopefully make the series feel unique.

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