An exclusive report from The Hollywood Reporter yesterday confirmed that writer Jonathan Igla would be serving as the series writer and executive producer for the new show Hawkeye, coming to Disney+. The series joins a large wave of new Marvel content coming to Disney+.
From what Disney has announced so far, Hawkeye will follow the story of Clint Barton, once again played by Jeremy Renner, training new hero, Kate Bishop. The drama series has apparently found its leadership in Jonathan Igla, who is no stranger to drama and prestige television. Igla previously worked as the executive story editor on Mad Men, the award-winning series from AMC. Mad Men was incredibly successful, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Drama series for four years in a row. With Igla at the helm, Marvel fans may speculate whether Hawkeye might gain the same success.
The Hawkeye series is tentatively scheduled to premeire on Disney+ in Fall 2021. Hawkeye will be joining a huge slate of Marvel shows coming to Disney+ in the next few years. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is the first of these shows, set to debut in Fall 2020. Winter Soldier will also be pulling its head creatives from the world of prestige TV, with head writer Malcolm Spellman of Empire and director Kari Scogland of The Handmaid’s Tale. The follow-up to Winter Soldier will be WandaVision in Spring 2021, which will have Jac Schaeffer of Captain Marvel as the showrunner. Spring 2021 will also see the release of Loki, with Michael Waldron of Rick & Morty as showrunner.
The character of Hawkeye has often taken a back seat in past Marvel films, so the upcoming show will provide a new opportunity for the writers and Jeremy Renner to explore the character more. Past interpretations of the character include Hawkeye (2012), created by Matt Fraction and David Aja, which has been praised for its art and storytelling. Gizmodo called the series it “one of Marvel’s greatest comics.” It is unclear how much inspiration, if any, the writers will be taking from the 2012 comic.