Jeremy Renner wanted a darker version of Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there are several reasons why that would've been a mistake. In Hawkeye, Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) wears Hawkeye's old Ronin outfit while fighting off criminals, and it puts the Avenger's past enemies on her trail. To rectify the situation, Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye gives up his holiday plans with his family to team up with the young arrow-slinger. Along with Bishop, Hawkeye faces his past, takes on his old foes, and still makes it home in time to celebrate Christmas with his family.

Hawkeye introduces several essential characters to the MCU. In addition to Bishop, Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox) makes her debut in the Disney+ series. Lopez is Deaf and a member of the Cheyenne Nation in Marvel's comics. In real life, Cox is a Deaf actor and is also Native American, growing up on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin. The series also includes Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk/Kingpin. The villain first debuted in Netflix's Daredevil before jumping over to the MCU, thus finally connecting the streaming service's superhero shows to Marvel's cinematic universe.

Related: Hawkeye Proved Why There Can Never Be Another Human Avenger

Renner reportedly wanted a darker version of Hawkeye in the Disney+ series, but that would never work. In an interview (via GamesRadar), director Katie Ellwood, a.k.a. Bertie, said the actor was on board with the tone of the series not being overly serious and leaning into some absurdity. Still, the director also mentioned how Renner wanted to embrace the darker aspects of Hawkeye. "He wanted the darkness," the director said, adding, "He wanted to go there." However, considering the MCU generally has a lighter tone, a darker version of Jeremy Renner's Ronin/Hawkeye could've derailed the entire series.

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Marvel has built the entire MCU around fun comic book movies, and a dark series wouldn't fit the plan. At this point, Marvel has conditioned fans to expect humor in its projects, with the MCU even punctuating its most serious moments with jokes. For instance, in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) is in the middle of revealing his dark past to Katy (Awkwafina) when a flight attendant interrupts them and basically does a funny bit about airline food. Whether the jokes work or not, fans expect them. And if Hawkeye fully leaned more into Clint Barton's dark past as Ronin, which involves countless murders, fans could be left scratching their heads.

In addition, Hawkeye successfully fits in dark moments without going overboard. Often, overly dark comic book movies, such as the DCEU films, become highly criticized for taking themselves too seriously. However, Hawkeye walks a fine line between absurdity and seriousness, acknowledging Hawkeye's dark past as Ronin and the loss of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) without making the series all about death and disturbing murders. After all, Hawkeye is still a Christmas show at its heart. Though Renner might've initially wanted a darker version of Hawkeye, that wouldn't quite hit the bullseye.

More: Hawkeye’s Kingpin Reveal Perfectly Mocked Marvel’s Leak Problem

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