How Hawkeye Show Was Influenced by Die Hard & Home Alone

Hawkeye executive producer Trinh Tran talks about how Marvel Studios’ latest Disney+ series was influenced by classic Christmas movies Die Hard and Home Alone. Jeremy Renner’s first “solo” outing as Clint Barton/Hawkeye alongside his protégée in Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop, had its two-episode premiere on November 24. In addition to Steinfeld, Hawkeye introduces multiple faces to the Marvel Cinematic Universe including Vera Farmiga, Fra Fee, Tony Dalton, Zahn McClarnon, Brian d'Arcy James, and Alaqua Cox. The series will also see the return of Florence Pugh as Black Widow’s Yelena Belova, who is hunting down the former Avenger thanks to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus).

Hawkeye incorporates many elements from Matt Fraction and David Aja’s comic, My Life As A Weapon. For example, Kate and Lucky the Pizza Dog are both main characters, Clint is struggling with hearing loss, and the series is set around the Christmas season. The show sees Clint take his kids on a Christmas vacation to New York city two years after the events of Avengers: Endgame and the Blip, to see the Captain America-themed musical, Rogers. Hawkeye episodes 1 and 2 see Kate don the Ronin persona, which provokes enemies from Clint’s past. Therefore, he and Kate Bishop must get rid of them so Clint can get home to his family in time for Christmas — a plot detail reminiscence of classic Christmas romps.

Producer Tran recently spoke with Yahoo Entertainment to discuss Hawkeye. She discussed fleshing out the Christmas aspect of Matt Fraction's 2013 comic run by looking to classic Christmas films. In particular, the producer cites influences from two iconic movies, Die Hard and Home Alone. See what Tran said below:

“There’s definitely that style in there. There’s Home Alone, which I really love as well, too. Die Hard obviously has the action, has that character. So, we looked at a ton of them. We looked at different Christmas music as well, too. But most importantly was also, ‘How do we integrate it and maintain that feeling that we’re after in all the projects that we have created?’

Hawkeye Clint Kate Christmas lights poster

The first Die Hard movie was released in 1988 and follows wise-cracking NYPD detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) as he attends a Christmas party with his estranged wife, Holly Gennero (Bonnie Bedelia), at Nakatomi Plaza. Unfortunately, terrorists led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) take over the building, and McClane has to go full action hero so that he can spend Christmas with his family. Two years after Die Hard was released, Home Alone hit theaters, bringing audiences an unlikely hero in Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin), who defends his home against a pair of burglars after being left "home alone" over the holidays. While both films draw parallels Hawkeye’s plot of surviving Christmas, Die Hard isn’t considered a Christmas movie by all, while Home Alone is unambiguous in that regard — something that also can be said about Hawkeye.

The first MCU project to be set during the holiday season was Iron Man 3 in 2013, which was written and directed by Lethal Weapon scribe Shane Black. However, that film pales in comparison to Hawkeye’s buddy cop Christmas special, which is fully equipped with the appropriate seasonal music, aesthetic, and motives. Having lost his family in between the events of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Hawkeye is desperate to make up for lost time in his Disney+ series, exacerbating the ticking clock of getting home for the holidays. Fans will get to see how things pan out three days before Christmas when the Hawkeye finale drops on December 22.

More: Hawkeye Being A Christmas Story Can Outdo Iron Man 3

Source: Yahoo Entertainment