With practically every major character in the MCU turning up in Infinity War, fans were left asking where the hell was Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton/Hawkeye? After all, he was one of the founding Avengers and had played a major part in both the 2012 blockbuster and Age of Ultron. Well, clearly they’ve been saving him for Avengers 4, where Renner looks set to reprise the role of Barton in a very different way than we’ve previously seen.
In fact, the actor’s now confirmed his return by posting an Instagram picture of himself behind the scenes during the on-going reshoots for Avengers 4 that are currently taking place in Atlanta. Accompanied by the caption, “Circling the wagons with my good friends @marvel @avengers #letsstretchbitches #hawkeye,” you can see the photo for yourself down below, and you might just notice that Renner’s sporting a new hairdo, which indicates that the long rumored theory that he’ll don the new superhero title of Ronin will come to pass.
Used by several characters in Marvel Comics, Ronin’s generally a mysterious figure driven by vengeance and fury. So what could drive the generally-pretty-chilled-out Hawkeye to this? Well, how about Thanos’ snap taking out his beloved family, leaving him purposeless in life except for a burning desire for revenge combined with the guilt that he wasn’t in Wakanda to contribute to the fight?
It all sounds pretty damn plausible. With rumors swirling around that this time Steve Rogers and Tony Stark might give their lives to restore the universe to pre-Snap state, perhaps Barton could join them. I mean, who knows what the man might do to rewrite time to save his murdered family and absolve himself of the miserable, lonely life he’s chosen?
Or, of course, this could be a load of guff that I’m pulling out of my ass and Hawkeye was just in a place with no cell phone reception during Avengers: Infinity War. You’d feel pretty damn embarrassed to turn on your phone to multiple texts pleading with you to show up to Wakanda in the hope you’ve got a special Thanos-killing trick arrow, wouldn’t you?