Where Is Hawkeye In Avengers: Infinity War?

Marvel Studios has yet to reveal Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) in any Avengers: Infinity War, so where is he? Almost every single character that is set to appear in Infinity War has been promoted to this point. Yet, for some unknown reason, founding team member Clint Barton remains hidden.Marketing for Infinity War is in full swing, as evidenced by the huge spread of images and details that EW has started to reveal. Yet even with all this new material surfacing, Hawkeye continues to be sidelined. It all began with the first trailer near the end last year - the one that highlighted the grand nature of the movie and its impressive cast. It even began with a callback to one of Nick Fury's most famous lines, but spliced together using the film's heroes to utter the phrase. All of the original Avengers except for Hulk and Hawkeye could be heard in that monologue, but while Banner/Hulk appears throughout the trailer, Barton is nowhere to be seen or heard.Related: Hawkeye Isn't In the Avengers: Infinity War TrailerThis has been a recurring trend as the marketing has continued on, leaving many (including us) wondering where Hawkeye is when all of this goes down. His absence wouldn't be as glaring if not for every other hero being shown by now, or if he wasn't an integral member of the team. Before we can really dive in to possibly answering the question at hand and figuring out Hawkeye's place in all of this, let's first recap what we know about him as Thanos arrives.This Page: What We Know About Hawkeye In Infinity War

Everything We Know About Hawkeye In Avengers 3 & 4

Renner will be making appearances in both Avengers: Infinity War and the follow-up Avengers 4. Although we never saw Renner on set of Infinity War courtesy of leaked photos, he was teasing his presence on set throughout production. The only official tidbit that has surfaced about Hawkeye is Renner's appearance in Marvel's giant Vanity Fair spread. In that image (featured above) Hawkeye is sporting a new haircut, but his costume isn't much of a departure from what he wore in previous Avengers outings. That's a fairly big contrast to the rest of the team, who have largely adjusted their looks since Captain America: Civil War.

It was during this movie that Barton left his better instincts (and his family) behind and joined the superhero fight. This decision proved to have serious consequences. After Hawkeye aligned himself against the Sokovia Accords, General Ross locked him away in the underwater super-prison, The Raft. Thankfully, Captain America (Chris Evans) came to his rescue, allowing for Clint to return home. Staying close the farm and his family will probably be his primary concerns right now, but what happens when Thanos brings his Outrider army, the Black Order, and the power of multiple Infinity Stones to Earth?

Its also been reported that Barton will undergo a drastic change - hanging up the Hawkeye mantle by taking on the Ronin persona. This is said to be where audiences will find Barton in Avengers 4, and we've previously laid out our theory for why that will be the case. Hawkeye's family could be the key to all of this (and we'll touch on that more soon), but it looks like his journey as Ronin leads him to Japan in the sequel - and possibly back into contact with his old friend Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). Beyond that, what Barton is up to after Infinity War remains just as big of a mystery as to what he's doing next.

Is Hawkeye's Role Minimal?

Since Marvel continues to keep Hawkeye out of the public eye, there must be a reason for it. Renner may not have already led a Marvel film on his own, but he's still a recognizable name and Hawkeye has his fair share of fans. Leaving him out of the marketing only for him to have a major role in the film would be quite the surprise at this point, so what gives? While it isn't a super fun answer, this could very well just be a factor of Hawkeye not having a very large role. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo are juggling nearly 80 characters in Infinity War, many of whom have been featured more prominently in previous films and/or are, frankly, more powerful and more adept to try to stop Thanos and his forces.

This could simply mean that Hawkeye has a minimal role in Infinity War, so there's not necessarily a need to show it in the marketing. Yes, it is still strange that Marvel wouldn't give Hawkeye any shine (he couldn't even get his own Twitter emoji), but sometimes the simplest explanation is the answer. It also would line up with Hawkeye's recent arc for him to take a backseat. He retired once before, so it's no shock to hear that he's made that decision again. This is especially holds true as he and his wife welcomed another child to the family at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron, and after becoming a fugitive he may not want to risk his family life anymore.

With Hawkeye retired, him being at home with his family is hardly something that would be a major selling point to the public - let alone a major focus of the film's story. Not only that, but if his role is smaller than some would like, how much time could he even have with his wife Laura (Linda Cardellini) and their kids to begin with? His absence from the majority of the movie could easily be explained with some exposition, only to further drive home the impact for when he does appear.

Is Marvel Trying to Protect Spoilers?

Hawkeye Family in Avengers Age of Ultron

The juicier answer to Infinity War's lack of Hawkeye is that his entire involvement is somewhat a spoiler. If our aforementioned theory proves to be true and falls in line with the minor role Hawkeye may have in the larger story, the happy days of the Bartons may not last too much longer. Hawkeye losing his family would certainly be a major moment in the film and for the character (thus setting up his Ronin turn in Avengers 4), so Marvel could be making the smart move to just leaving him out of the marketing altogether.

The only question that still remains is what leads to Hawkeye's potential loss. They could simply be casualties of Thanos' widespread destruction. As far as we know, the Bartons aren't housing an Infinity Stone and the location of their home is top secret, so this isn't a similar case to Justice League hiding Superman in the marketing to make his prominent role more impactful. A direct attack on them doesn't quite line up with all the other moving parts Infinity War has to offer either.

The best chance for Hawkeye to join the fight could come in Wakanda. Even if he does make a surprise appearance in the third act battle, that wouldn't necessarily mean we'd have to see him either. The money shot of the trailers so far has been the group shot of several heroes running through Wakanda, but that doesn't mean it includes them all. Some of the Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor will be included in this fight too, and while Hawkeye isn't exactly a natural fit with that group, the flood of Outriders invading Wakanda would be as good a place as any for Hawkeye to suit back up. Keeping that tidbit a secret until the theater would add another layer of surprise to the conclusion and Renner's reappearance.

Whatever Hawkeye's role in Avengers: Infinity War winds up being, it'll certainly only generate more speculation as the movie draws closer. That is, if Marvel doesn't eventually reveal some info on him.

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