Hawkeye: Jeremy Renner Gave Brutally Honest Advice to Hailee Steinfeld When They First Met

While Marvel Studios looks to close out 2021 in exciting fashion with theatrical releases like Eternals and Spider-Man: No Way Home, the MCU still has one more big Disney+ outing planned in Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye. Coming as the last original Avenger to get his own solo project, Clint Barton is set to take on challenges he's never seen before in a post-Avengers: Endgame world.

The Avengers' master archer will spend the holiday season finding his way back into the superhero game while also navigating the family life he's been working to get more of since 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. Additionally, Barton will become a mentor after finding himself in front of Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop.

Steinfeld's enthusiasm for being a part of the MCU can't be understated, and it's clear that fans see her as an incredible fit already for the MCU's Kate Bishop through the show's marketing campaign.

The stories behind her preparation for the role have detailed just how much work she's put into her new project, especially from a technical standpoint, although her most recent interview revealed how she adjusted after chatting with Renner.

Renner Helps Steinfeld With Her MCU Beginnings

Marvel

MCU star Hailee Steinfeld spoke with Entertainment Weekly about her early days shooting Hawkeye for Marvel Studios. Specifically, she touched on the way she learned about Marvel's use of CGI upon her arrival in Atlanta for shooting.

Steinfeld recalled how she trained for some time to master her archery skills as much as possible before getting on set. However, upon speaking with series star Jeremy Renner, she learned that all of her arrows would be CGI and added in post-production after shooting ended:

"I wanted [the archery] to be second nature by the time I got out to Atlanta to shoot, but the first time we met, Jeremy was like, 'Listen, you're going to get there and you're not even shooting a real arrow, it's all CGI.' But I was still grateful to have the mechanics down."

She also looked back on how much she enjoyed taking in the source material for the Hawkeye series, specifically Matt Fraction's run with the character that inspired the show's plot.

Comparing it to her role as Emily Dickinson on the Apple TV+ series Dickinson, she loved how many "different versions" of the character are out there and shared excitement for fans to see all the work put it:

"With Kate, I think it's sort of a similar thing as Dickinson where there's all this information about her, there's different versions of this story and character, and it's a huge evolution,. I think it's going to be very exciting for fans to see what we've taken from all that and put into this show."

Although the archery on-screen will be shown with CGI, Steinfeld's work as Kate Bishop has inspired her to improve her own bow-and-arrow skills for the future:

"Ever since I got home from shooting, I've been trying to figure out where I could stack some hay bales and put up a new archery target." 

Steinfeld's Lesson in MCU Filmmaking

Marvel Studios is well-known for utilizing CGI to help push its visual storytelling forward, going as far back as early Phase 1 with effects like Captain America's shield flying through the air. The situation has been similar with Hawkeye's bow and arrows over the years, especially with arrowheads that have incredibly powerful abilities.

Although Steinfeld has clearly put in the work to make sure her archery skills look as great as possible on screen, Renner helped her out in a big way as he gave her the rundown on how he's worked with those visual effects over the years. Even with this change, Steinfeld still appeared to feel confident thanks to all of her training for the role.

These quotes should only serve to build even more hype for Steinfeld's official MCU debut considering her early love for playing Kate Bishop. With the young hero likely taking over the Hawkeye mantle before moving on to bigger projects, the adjustment to the CGI work should only play a small part in her journey as an Avenger.

The first two episodes of Hawkeye will premiere on Disney+ on November 24, 2021.