Written By: Nick Poulimenakos

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an ever-growing franchise. The series has gone from a handful of heroes in New York to a gigantic ensemble that includes people from all parts of the galaxy. The MCU is nearing the end of its third phase and with it will come even more characters. However, there has always been one hero who has consistently gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to character development. Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye has been a major staple in the MCU but has also had the least amount of screen time. Now, Renner is speaking out about how he hopes the next two Avengers films will change this.

In a recent interview with Collider, Renner spoke about wanting to explore the Hawkeye character:

“I do want to explore more with the character. I’m down. I’m always wanting to understand Barton much more cause I think he’s just a kick ass character and I hope we get to explore a lot more. It looks like we’re going to be pretty busy for the rest of the year, so I can’t wait to see what they come up with.”

Hawkeye made his MCU debut in Thor where he was shown to be working with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. In the first Avengers film, Hawkeye was mostly just a mindless slave before taking part in the Battle of New York against Loki. Age of Ultron tried to expand the character by giving him a secret family backstory but even that was minimal. His screen time in Captain America: Civil War was regulated to a supporting role where he became a member of Cap’s rogue Avengers team and was sent to jail after the acclaimed airport battle.

It’s easy to see why Renner would want to do more in the MCU given these past roles. Much like Idris Elba in the Thor series, Renner is never given much to do, although, that may soon change with the release of Avengers: Infinity War. Every Marvel here will need to be ready for when their greatest threat, Thanos, arrives on Earth looking to conquer all.

Phase four seems like a prime choice to expand Hawkeye’s story. With Kevin Feige already stating that phase four of the MCU will be a very different scene, Hawkeye could warrant a solo film or even a team-up story with Black Widow. Fans have been clamoring for Black Widow to get her own film as she has one of the most complex backstory’s in the entire MCU. Adding Hawkeye to the mix would make for an incredible spy-thriller story based on their missions together. Even a Netflix series chronicling why Hawkeye and Black Widow work for S.H.I.E.L.D would be a incredible narrative to watch.

Avengers: Infinity War flies into theatres on May 4, 2018 while Thor: Ragnarok fights its way into theatres on November 3, 2017.