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Disney confirmed Tuesday that Fox’s live-action Hawkeye TV series will debut on the upcoming Disney+ streaming service next year. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the series is being written by Jeff Wadlow (Kick-Ass 2) and follows the adventures of Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, and his fellow Avengers Team-Up member, Black Widow, over the course of a single day.
So, what is Disney+?
Marvel Studios, which was recently acquired by Disney for $52.4 billion, has now become a fully integrated part of the parent company. Marvel Studios — headed by Marvel movie maestro Kevin Feige — will have the ability to generate its own versions of the characters and plots found in such blockbuster franchises as Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Avengers. All this will lead to everything from live-action Marvel Netflix shows to Iron Fist and the like (now un-affiliated with Netflix) to Disney+ shows.
Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed the joint venture at Disney’s recent quarterly conference call, saying, “We’re also committed to following a disciplined plan for capital deployment that balances returning significant cash to shareholders while maintaining a strong investment-grade credit rating. We plan to invest more in our own direct-to-consumer streaming services than the market is projecting and will ramp up investment even more after the Fox deal closes.”
How does this affect Hawkeye?
It’s pretty unlikely, based on the limited lead-up in the press, that Hawkeye will get promoted directly to the next phase of Marvel films. However, his presence in the new Disney+ shows makes sense: Marvel has used the Hawkeye character, in particular, as a framing device for its comic book stories for decades, laying out his backstory and lore as a mystery. Presumably, the writers behind Disney+’s shows will follow the same narrative storytelling concept in their series.
The four series to be premiered on Disney+ are the previously announced Loki (alongside Hela from Thor: Ragnarok), an Angela Cavalero series that could be inspired by the controversial Supergirl reboot, a Bad Boys spinoff that would focus on Beachum’s Bionic Woman supercop Jennifer Johnson, and Hawkeye.
The most interesting addition to the project, however, is the Russian-American comedy series Kaminski, starring Patton Oswalt, which will mark the first time the actor-musician has played a fictional character.
What does this mean for Marvel’s Netflix shows?
Under the deal between Disney and Marvel, Netflix won’t be adapting any Netflix Marvel series for the future. However, The New York Times reported Tuesday that the property, such as Daredevil and Jessica Jones, will remain under Marvel’s control and possibly even be rebranded as Disney-branded shows.