Hawkeye director Rhys Thomas opens up about why the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Disney+ series is set around the Christmas season. Jeremy Renner returns to lead the series as the titular hero as he tries to take his kids on a Christmas vacation to New York following the events of Avengers: Endgame. When enemies from his past as Ronin begin to come after him, Clint Barton must turn to Hawkeye super-fan Kate Bishop to get rid of them so he can get home to his family in time for the holiday.

Alongside Renner, the cast for Hawkeye introduces multiple faces to the MCU including Hailee Steinfeld as Hawkeye protégée Kate, Vera Farmiga, Fra Fee, Tony Dalton, Zahn McClarnon, Brian d'Arcy James and Alaqua Cox as Echo. The series will also see the returns of Linda Cardellini as Clint's wife Laura and Florence Pugh as Black Widow's Yelena Belova, who is hunting down the former Avenger after Valentina Allegra de Fontaine indicates to her that Barton was responsible for her sister's death. Hawkeye is currently gearing up for its two-episode premiere on Disney+ and those behind the show are offering new insight into its development.

Related: What Kate Bishop's "Avengers-Level Threat" Could Be In Hawkeye

Ahead of the show's premiere, director Rhys Thomas spoke with The Wrap to discuss Hawkeye. In looking at the Christmas setting of the story, Thomas explained that element primarily came from Matt Fraction's 2013 comic run of the character, which serves as the main inspiration for the series, and praised the writer for his collaboration with the show. See what Thomas said below:

“The Christmas thing? It predates me. The [Matt] Fraction run has a little bit of that there. It was like this organic thing. I don’t know if it was released-oriented or what, but the six days before Christmas run up was like an early hook. It felt like a great way of heightening the stakes, and also it felt very grounded to our human character. [Fraction] was like a spiritual guide. I mean, honestly, there’s so much there in the run already. It was sort of understanding it and tonally kind of getting on the same page. I emailed with him and he shared playlists with me.”

Hailee Steinfeld and Jeremy Renner in Hawkeye Show

Across its two years of development and production, the cast and crew of Hawkeye have mentioned on multiple occasions how Matt Fraction's run in the comics serves as the key inspiration for the series. Between its Christmas setting to the introductions of Kate Bishop and Lucky the Pizza Dog, both main characters in the comics, and the development of Clint going deaf in the series, head writer Jonathan Igla is certainly pulling main of readers' favorite elements from the source material. The marketing for the show has also leaned into homaging Fraction's comics, with the show's logo being nearly identical to the one used for the comics and recent Hawkeye posters featuring multiple purple targets and a gritty white background akin to the source.

Those who fell in love with Fraction's Hawkeye comics will also be excited to hear Thomas' explanation of the writer's involvement in the series. While it seems unlikely that Fraction himself penned any of the show's six episodes, his work with the director to properly capture the themes and tone of his comic run is sure to build anticipation for said fans even further. The wait for Hawkeye is nearly over as the show is set to premiere on Disney+ with its first two episodes on November 24.

More: Why The Hawkeye Show Being A Comedy Could Save The Avengers

Source: The Wrap

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