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The wheels of development on Disney+'s Hawkeye churn ever so slowly with the Marvel Studios show having yet to cast one of the production's leads. New reports suggest the Burbank-based outfit could be preparing to move on from Hailee Steinfeld, the Bumblebee lead once attached to the part. Courtesy of fan scooper extraordinaire Jeremy Conrad and his fan blog MCU Cosmic it's being reported Disney has started auditioning other actors for the role.

As fate would have it, Conrad isn't revealing the names of those who have auditioned, though the rumor monger suggests Disney is "going to meet with a couple of actresses" in the near future. "Both have starred in movies, one co-started [sic] in a big budget sci-fi/fantasy film a couple of years ago, and both would make a great Kate Bishop if things don't work out with Hailee," Conrad reports. "I will say that neither of them are anyone the Internest has been fan casting."

The vague comments leave it wide open for interpretation, especially when described as a science-fiction/fantasy lead. As previously speculated, Steinfeld's current contracts with Apple TV+ seem to be the primary hold up preventing the closure of a deal. Again, that's speculative and neither Apple nor Disney have commented on the situation.

Steinfeld herself cast doubt on the scenario last November, saying "That's not something that's necessarily happening. We're going to wait and find out, I guess."

“I think generally speaking, this sort of experience has prepared me for working in this sort of space," the star added. “So whatever opportunity might present itself in this space, I do think I will be able to tackle it, now that I’ve had some experience under my belt."

Hawkeye is expected to hit Disney+ next fall.

Other upcoming Marvel Studios projects on Disney+ include The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in August 2020, WandaVision in December 2020, Loki in Spring 2021, What If…? in Summer 2021. Series without release dates include Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk.

If not Steinfeld, who would you like to see play Kate Bishop? Think it over and let us know your thoughts in the comments section!