Hawkeye Director Teases Ant-Man Easter Egg In Upcoming Episode

Hawkeye director Rhys Thomas teases an Ant-Man surprise reference in an upcoming episode of the new series. Marvel Studios made their return to Disney+ after a few months of hiatus with the Jeremy Renner-led series. Reprising his role as Clint Barton, the project delves deep into his personal story. But it will, apparently, also include a nod to his fun real-world dynamic with Paul Rudd.

The Hawkeye series debuted with a two-episode premiere that effectively establishes the show's premise. Aside from Clint, the series also debuted a brand new hero in Kate Bishop, played by Hailee Steinfeld. Due to a slew of incidents, the pair found themselves working together against the Tracksuit Mafia. With four more episodes to go, it's clear that the backbone of the show will be the pair's relationship, and how they go from new acquaintances to partners. But since Hawkeye has been in the MCU for a decade, there are also clear nods to the bigger franchise, including a couple of flashbacks to certain events in the past, as well as, direct mention of other heroes, which was primarily achieved through the Rogers musical.

While the Broadway show was supposed to only focus on the original Avengers, it, interestingly, featured a cameo from Ant-Man. Thomas didn't explain in a new interview with The Playlist why they decided to alter history and include the shrinking hero, but he does say that this isn't the last reference to Scott Lang. In an upcoming Hawkeye episode, the show will include a nod to Renner's fun dynamic with Paul Rudd. Read what the director said below:

“I don’t want to reveal anything because we do kinda get to introduce [some characters]. Here’s one—Ant-man. Paul [Rudd] and Jeremy’s dynamic together I enjoy. I enjoyed their press tour dynamic when they were on the ‘Avengers’ run. So [Ant-Man] was a character that felt like a fun way to play at the absurdity of Clint’s situation…but I did get to have a little nod to that.”

Thomas is referring to Renner and Rudd's time together promoting Avengers: Endgame. Since both Hawkeye and Ant-Man sat out on the initial fight against Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War, Marvel Studios thought it would be best to pair them up during the promotional period. Given the secrecy surrounding the Infinity Saga-capper project, the actors couldn't really talk about anything plot-related to the movie. So instead of being bland, they found a way to goof off and made their interview junkets interesting without having to divulge any information about it. Since this happened outside of the MCU, it's curious how Hawkeye will reference it in the show. Unless, of course, Rudd actually shows up as Ant-Man and has some banter with Clint.

Since the WandaVision mystery guest blunder, Marvel Studios has been careful, however, with regard to teasing any surprise character that could show up in their series. It's worth remembering that Paul Bettany hyped up another actor appearing in the inaugural MCU/Disney+ series, spawning countless theories. It was ultimately a let-down when fans realized that he was just talking about himself playing White Vision. So, if Rudd does appear in Hawkeye, chances are that they won't be pushing so hard for it. Instead, they could just save the surprise for the episode itself.

More: Hawkeye: Whose Avengers Watch Is Stolen In Episode 1

Source: The Playlist