The cast and crew of ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ have done an impressive job of keeping fans in the dark with regard to the specific roles most of the characters in this jam-packed film will play. Some, however, have a greater degree of secrecy surrounding them than others. Notable as much for his relative absence from the film’s trailers and promotional material as for anything else, the fan favorite Avenger has thus far left more questions than answers in his wake.
Speaking to Collider, co-directors Joe and Anthony Russo were asked about the eagle-eyed Avenger’s role in the upcoming film. While Anthony noted simply that he “has a unique reaction to the civil war situation that puts him in a special spot in the film,” Joe went into greater detail. While keeping his answer deliberately vague, Joe Russo emphasized the degree to which Hawkeye’s future will be shaped by the fallout from ‘Civil War’:
“Coming out of ‘Civil War’, he’s in the same position that Cap and Falcon are at the end of that movie. And Ant-Man. And coming into this movie you know… the characters on Cap’s side coming out of the civil war, some made certain decisions and others made other decisions that led to different paths in them dealing with oversight in this movie in a different way. So Hawkeye’s on his own journey in this movie.”
Though neither of the brothers goes so far as to actually say it, this could be taken as support for persistent rumors that Hawkeye will adopt the identity of Ronin in either this film or next year’s ‘Avengers 4’. First introduced in the early days of Brian Michael Bendis’s run on ‘New Avengers’, the Ronin identity has been held by a number of characters in the comics, including Hawkeye himself. Notably, Barton assumed this alternate identity in the aftermath of ‘Civil War’.
Directed by the Russo brothers from a script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ marks the culmination of a decade-long effort by Marvel Studios and sees the Avengers team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy to take on Thanos. The film counts Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan, Paul Rudd, Chadwick Boseman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olson, Sebastian Stan, and three gentlemen named “Chris” among its gargantuan cast. The long awaited movie is set to arrive in theaters on April 27, 2018.