When Disney+ debuted in 2021, their focus was heavily on Marvel, particularly with original series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This lineup featured titles such as “Loki,” “WandaVision,” and “Falcon and the Winter Soldier.” However, only one show revolved around an original Avenger: “Hawkeye,” starring Jeremy Renner. In this series, Clint Barton is drawn back into his role as a superhero due to a conspiracy in New York City, where he must resolve an old grudge. During his confrontation with a well-known criminal kingpin, Barton also encounters Kate Bishop (played by Hailee Steinfeld), who admires his archery skills and is eager to become his mentoree.

Since launching in 2021, “Loki” has been renewed for a second season, “WandaVision” has received its own spin-off, and “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” has led to two cinematic continuations — “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Thunderbolts.” Noticeably missing from this list is a follow-up to “Hawkeye.” Little was mentioned about a potential second season for the series until rumors recently circulated that another season of “Hawkeye” might be in development. However, with no official confirmation and silence from the cast and crew, fans remain puzzled, wondering if a second season of “Hawkeye” is merely wishful thinking.

“Hawkeye” made a big splash when it premiered in 2021, earning positive reviews and strong word of mouth. The show was particularly noteworthy for bringing back the highly anticipated “Daredevil” antagonist Wilson Fisk, also known as the Kingpin (played by Vincent D’Onofrio), and introducing beloved new characters like Kate Bishop and Echo. Yet despite the initial excitement surrounding its release, “Hawkeye” has not seen a follow-up season in nearly four years. So what’s holding it back?

Well, for starters, Marvel television on the Disney+ side — at least back in 2021 — wasn’t running their shows like normal prime time hits, planned for multiple seasons at the outset. Certain shows might get a second season, like “Loki,” or a spin-off, like how “Wandavision” birthed “Agatha All Along.” Others are simply left in limbo (cough, “Moon Knight”). Even in 2022, a year after the show’s debut, “Hawkeye” producer Rhys Thomas simply said he had no idea what plans Marvel had for the series. 

Though it hasn’t gotten a Season 2, the show did make way for the spin-off series “Echo.” And then there’s the matter of Jeremy Renner’s devastating snow plow accident in 2023, after which the actor may have actually died for several minutes, a claim the actor confirmed in his 2025 memoir, “My Final Breath.” With Renner out of commission, Marvel surely had to put any plans they might have had for a sequel season on hold, and it would be a year before the actor was working again.

Since the release of the first season of “Hawkeye,” star Jeremy Renner has been surprisingly tight-lipped about a potential return. While many stars are open and even eager to express their excitement to return for another year of stories on a hit TV show, the Oscar-nominated actor verbally shrugged when asked about his future as Hawkeye in late 2021.

“I don’t have a crystal ball, or I’m not a soothsayer,” he told GamesRadar when asked about a possible follow-up. And he didn’t give anything away. “I have no idea. But these six episodes are pretty exciting,” he told the outlet. Due to his accident and long recovery time, we wouldn’t get much more from the actor on the subject again, not until April 2025. And it sadly wasn’t a positive update.

“They asked me to do season two, and they offered me half the money,” Renner said on TikTok (relayed by Business Insider). “I’m like, ‘Well, it’s going to take me twice the amount of work for half the amount of money.'” Even more surprisingly, Renner revealed that he believes Marvel lowered their offer because of his accident, which may have lessened their confidence in him. “I’m like, ‘I’m sorry, why? Did you think I’m only half the Jeremy because I got ran over?’ Maybe that’s why you want to pay me half of what I made on the first season?”

While Jeremy Renner never seemed all that hyped up about returning for a second season of “Hawkeye,” his co-star Haliee Steinfeld was open about her interest in returning to the part. “I’m excited about the idea of continuing to grow with a character like Kate, especially in something as huge as the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” she told Backstage in 2025 while promoting her role in Ryan Coogler’s latest film “Sinners.”

“You get to go back to your family; you get to go back to that little home that then becomes part of this grander picture. I love that character, and I totally understand why she is so loved.” Unlike Renner, who is an MCU veteran going back to his first appearance in “Thor,” Steinfeld is a major star recruited to join the MCU with the hopes of appearing in more projects, so we know we’re likely to see her again. 

Ultimately, while Steinfeld did reprise her role as Kate Bishop for a post-credits stinger in “The Marvels,” we’re still waiting to hear officially if and when we’ll see her on Disney+ leading a “Hawkeye” series once more. Clearly, Steinfeld is interested in returning, and with Renner out, it’s likely that any second season of “Hawkeye” would put her in the title role.

Though there’s no Season 2 yet announced, it’s fair to wonder who might return if it ever happens. We know that — unless Disney’s bean counters come back with a new offer — Season 1 star and MCU heavyweight Jeremy Renner isn’t coming back. We also know that Hailee Steinfeld probably will. Not only is she open about her desire to continue, but the show can’t be called “Hawkeye” if there isn’t someone going by that name.

The more interesting thing to ponder is who else could return, because by and large, most of the wider cast have already turned up elsewhere. Echo got her own spin-off, Wilson Fisk is facing off with Matt Murdock in “Daredevil: Born Again,” which also features an appearance from Tony Dalton’s sword-wielding vigilante. Florence Pugh, meanwhile, was just seen in “Thunderbolts” and is now firmly entrenched in her own superhero team. Vera Farmiga could return as Kate’s mother Eleanor, but we last saw her behind bars, so it’s unlikely she’d be back full-time.

As a result, it’s possible that Season 2 of “Hawkeye” could introduce an entirely new supporting cast. Depending on which way the story goes — particularly in the wake of “Daredevil: Born Again,” which saw Fisk declare vigilantes enemies of the state — it’s also possible we could see Kate Bishop teaming up with other heroes like Daredevil in Season 2 of “Born Again” first. If she does, that story could introduce characters that might make their way to Season 2 of “Hawkeye.”

As previously mentioned, many in the cast of “Hawkeye” have continued their stories in other places. On the big screen, Yelena Belova appeared in “Thunderbolts” while Echo and Wilson Fisk got the small screen treatment in their own shows. As a result, there aren’t many obvious routes for Season 2 of “Hawkeye,” as most open threads were followed up on elsewhere. And without Renner returning, the stories for Season 2 are a little more limited. Nevertheless, a few possibilities spring to mind.

Drawing from the comics on which the series is based, a storyline involving Clint Barton’s brother Barney could be one track the series takes. Barney Barton is a villain in the comics, taking the name Trickshot, so serving as a replacement for Clint is unlikely, unless Marvel makes some serious changes to the character. Still, it makes thematic sense, particularly if Renner’s character is explained to be out of the picture for some unknown reason.

A lot of Season 2’s story could hinge on when it’s released, as well. With Season 2 of “Daredevil: Born Again” establishing a new status quo for heroes in NYC, “Hawkeye” would either have to be set outside the Big Apple, or incorporate the fight for superhero freedom into its story, depending on how it unfolds in “Born Again.” On the flip side, if it were to hit screens well after the second season of “Daredevil,” there could be a situation where Bishop is an official, government-sanctioned superhero.

Since the introduction of Kate Bishop in Season 1 of “Hawkeye,” fans have been wondering what Marvel had in store for the character. And with the release of “Ms. Marvel,” “WandaVision,” and “Agatha All Along,” it wasn’t long before even the press began to take notice of an under-the-radar trend, pointing out that Marvel was very quietly assembling the team known in the comics as “The Young Avengers.”

Initially comprised of Iron Patriot, Wiccan, Iron Lad, and Hulkling, the Young Avengers roster later included Kate Bishop, Wiccan’s brother Speed, Kid Loki, and others. And over the past few years, most of those characters have made their MCU debuts. Introducing different members of the team in various TV and movie projects, Marvel’s slate led many to suspect that the team was coming together soon. The previously-mentioned post-credits scene from “The Marvels,” in fact, saw Kate Bishop recruiting Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) into her own team, in a scene that mirrored Sam Jackson’s end-credits appearance in the original “Iron Man.”

So, while many are likely hoping for Season 2 of “Hawkeye” to continue where Season 1 left off, Marvel may have very different plans for the show’s return. “Hawkeye” Season 2 could be the first Disney+ series to follow a superhero team, formally introducing the Young Avengers as Bishop gathers her forces during the course of the show’s run. 

We’ve already touched on the question of how the timing of “Hawkeye” Season 2 could determine how the story unfolds. This is thanks to the stories seen in subsequent Disney+ shows “Echo” and “Daredevil: Born Again.” But Season 2 is still unannounced, which means by the time it comes out the MCU could be smack dab in the middle of a multiversal war leading into 2027’s “Avengers: Secret Wars.” And unless Season 2 gets up and running soon, it may not even come out until an entirely new MCU is born in the wake of the latter films.

In fact, if Season 2 does land after “Secret Wars,” then any speculation we make is moot, because the film is heavily rumored to reset and radically alter the MCU. That’s because it will be heavily inspired by the “Secret Wars” comics from 2010 that reshaped the comics’ continuity and folded together multiple Marvel timelines. Should that happen on the screen, and various movie universes are melded together, we could be left with a very different MCU — with characters in places we can’t yet predict. It’s even possible that a new actor could take over for Jeremy Renner. 

Don’t forget: It’s also possible that Kate’s story will continue in “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars.” For all we know, Kate Bishop will be a member of the Avengers and training her own protege by the time Season 2 of “Hawkeye” rolls around.

Through all the talk of “Hawkeye” Season 2, one big question still lingers: If Jeremy Renner doesn’t return, where does that leave the original Hawkeye? Well, as we just discussed, it’s possible we’ll see him next on the big screen in one or both new “Avengers” films. Whether the character retires after defeating Dr. Doom or continues as a hero in the movies is still up in the air, but even though he hasn’t been announced as a member of the “Avengers: Doomsday” cast, we’d be surprised if he doesn’t return at all, even if it’s just to say goodbye.

It’s also just as possible that after word spreads about Marvel’s penny-pinching offer, Marvel will reconsider convincing him to come back for “Hawkeye” Season 2. Maybe they’ll meet Renner’s demands, in which case he’d be back among the main cast, settling many of the open questions we have about the show’s continuation. We’ve thought a lot about how Hawkeye could factor into the future of the MCU after Season 1, so we know there are plenty of places that Marvel could take his story.