Posted in: Disney+, Marvel, streaming, TV | Tagged: disney, florence pugh, hailee steinfeld, hawkeye, jeremy renner, Rhys Thomas, vincent d'onofrio

Hawkeye Director Rhys Thomas Offers Series Breakdown, Teases Future

Hawkeye was able to tie up a loose end in terms of the events surrounding Black Widow and reintroduce a major character in the Netflix Defenders TV universe. Executive producer and director Rhys Thomas spoke with Collider breaking down filming in New York, the climactic fight between Yelena (Florence Pugh) and Clint (Jeremy Renner), the ad-libbed meeting between Yelena and Kate (Hailee Steinfeld), and what fans can expect from season two.

One of the memorable scenes of the series was the elaborate sequence at Rockefeller Center. "It was funny because we shot the show… We were essentially shooting portions of it the entire time," Thomas said. "I think our first week of shooting, we shot some scenes from the final episode in New York. The weird thing about the finale was that it was so big and it always had that focal point of Rockefeller Center that it was never far from our minds because we were constantly having meetings to try and figure out how to do it. So, I couldn't say I managed to separate the two things and I think it was probably hard for Jeremy [Renner] and Hailee [Steinfeld] as well in that way, because of the way we were jumping all over the place. Again, it was like, one day we'd be shooting scenes where they'd just met, and then we'd be shooting these moments where they were working as a unit. So it was really for them to toggle more than me."

The fight between Yelena and Clint was set up thanks to the post-credit scene set up in Black Widow when Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) sent a dossier of Barton to Yelena, her next target. Whatever that was revealed obviously wasn't shown to the audience. "That was a scene that it really was for Jeremy and Florence [Pugh]… It was a tough one to toggle as well because you needed that turning point in the fight," Thomas explained. "Obviously, Yelena lands with a mission in mind and almost like a clean sense of justice. And Clint has honestly had that… In the way that Jeremy does very well, his response is to open himself completely and he understands that she needs to do what she needs to do. And if that means that he dies, I think, there's that sense that, if that's what has to happen for her and for him to perhaps find peace within such thing, you sense that he's at that point where he's come to peace with it."

By contrast, Yelena was far more cordial and approachable to Steinfeld's Kate Bishop to the point of calling her first and last name in her thick Russian accent every time she addressed her in a playful way. Much of it was conceived by the actors themselves. "What was great was that Florence is the type of person that just arrives," Thomas said. "She arrives on set and just brings a certain energy with her. There's this very positive energy in the room when she's there. Hailee too, as well, and I think that was the thing, it would just… It's funny, I can't remember what was ad-lib versus what was scripted or what we planned, but ultimately, it was just getting them in the elevator and that little fight, and then obviously the chase through the corridor. It was just fun the whole night. So, yes, it was them playing and me trying to think of ways to give them more room to play and seeing what happens."

The Future of Hawkeye in MCU

As far as what little he can reveal. "I cannot speak to future plans in the tradition of secrecy," Thomas said. "Again, the show coming out, you never know how it's going to be received and it has been amazing to see how warmly people have taken it and enjoyed it. And it's been great to see Hailee's character embraced and sort of land so firmly in the MCU. I sincerely look forward to where that character goes next. And yes, I loved walking on the streets of the MCU and would gladly enjoy doing it again."
For more on how they were able to recreate Rockefeller Center, the Yelena-Clint fight, Yelena-Kate's chemistry, how Thomas kept Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk/Kingpin a secret throughout the production, if there was anything planned for post-credits beyond Rodgers: The Musical & trick arrows, check out the full interview here.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!