‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Writers Explain Why Having Hawkeye In The Movie Didn’t Work

Avengers: Infinity War was the beginning of the end. But no matter what, we just can’t seem to forget that there was no Hawkeye in the movie. The explanation given was that Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton/ Hawkeye was left out, due to his house arrest after the events of Captain America: Civil War. We finally meet up with Hawkeye in the most tragic opening sequence of Avengers: Endgame. We see him right in the beginning shot of the movie when his family gets Snapped out of existence.

Why Was Hawkeye Not Present In Avengers: Infinity War For Even One Scene?

Hawkeye’s non-involvement in Infinity War will always be a sore topic for fans. But Infinity War writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFelly reveal why the decision was made to keep Hawkeye on the sidelines for the first film.

Speaking on the commentary track for the Avengers: Endgame digital release, here are some snippets of what Markus and McFeely had to say about Hawkeye’s absence in Infinity War. Speaking with director Joe Russo, they said:

Joe: “Now, this scene was supposed to be in Avengers: Infinity War, after Thanos snapped his fingers. We thought it might be interesting to cut to a verite scene between Hawkeye and his family. I believe we tried it in one cut of the film, and looked at it and said ‘Oh, that’s never gonna work. It’s too disorienting.‘”

McFeely: “It was busy.”

…

Markus: “But it also works so well to restate the finality of what happened in Infinity War when you put it at the beginning of Endgame.”

Joe: “I think so. It brings you back emotionally very quickly. There’s a year between these films, and this movie helps to reset and re-remind the audience of what happened in that movie and how you felt at the end of that film.”

Anthony: “But through a brand new perspective.”

Markus: “We didn’t see Clint at all in Infinity war. Here we have him and he is hit hard.”

Was It The Right Decisions To Not Include Clint Barton/ Hawkeye In Infinity War?

The above views have been more or less the continuous answer for Hawkeye’s absence from Infinity War and reappearance in Endgame. We have to agree with the writers here, that it does make sense to have him be in Endgame rather than in Infinity War.

Once the decision was made for Hawkeye’s Civil War fallout to be house arrest, it would’ve been extremely jarring for fans to just see him pop up in one scene during the dusting sequence. As the directors and writers point out, Hawkeye’s opening scene in Endgame certainly reminds fans of the desperation and pain that the MCU heroes felt at the end of Infinity War. It was certainly an effective choice: you could hear pins drop in the theater during that harrowing scene.

Avengers: Endgame has been digitally released.

Watch Jeremy Renner talk about why he thinks Hawkeye wasn’t there in Avengers: Infinity War

(Source: comicbook.com and screenrant.com)