With just four episodes of Hawkeye left after that memorable two-part premiere, we can't help but get excited about what surprises could still be in store for us over the next month or so.
The penultimate episode lands right before Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into theaters, while the finale drops shortly after. That could have more meaning than it initially appears, especially as both projects appear to share a Christmastime setting; throw in what we know about Yelena Belova's role in the series and other big rumours, and we've come up with some bold predictions!
From surprise cameos to how Hawkeye can set up future seasons of this show, we dive into a lot here. Needless to say, there are potential spoilers, but we're sure you'll be intrigued by what you'll find.
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5. Yelena Belova Breaks Bad
Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova was an extremely likeable character, but also one who had only just escaped her Red Room programming. Black Widow's post-credits scene even revealed that she'd become an assassin for Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, so why is everyone convinced she'll become a hero?
Yelena may have been manipulated by Val into targeting Hawkeye, but we're not expecting this Disney+ series to redeem the character. While it's hard to say how exactly Clint Barton will escape her wrath, it seems more likely that this Natasha Romanoff's sister will continue heading down the same dark path as her comic book counterpart, probably becoming a Thunderbolt or Dark Avenger.
That leaves the door open to redemption down the line, a more interesting approach to her arc than having her appear in Hawkeye and go from killer to superhero in the space of just 45 minutes or so.
4. Swordsman Isn't The Villain We Think
Jack Duquesne is seemingly being set up as Hawkeye's villain after the first two episodes, and we're not going to deny that there's something shady about him. After all, he stole Ronin's sword from that black market auction and even offered Kate one of Armand's butterscotches following his murder (it's also worth noting his uncle died after being stabbed by a sword).
Despite what appears to be overwhelming evidence of Jack's villainy, we believe he's innocent and that it is, in fact, Eleanor Bishop who is responsible for Armand's death.
She just used one of Jack's swords and also killed Kate's father all those years ago by taking advantage of the chaos caused by the Chitauri attack. As for her fiance, something tells us he could prove himself an unexpected ally to Kate, with the door left open for him to one day suit up as Swordmaster...
3. The Kingpin Returns
This has been rumoured, but we're sure you remember those big Mephisto rumours for WandaVision as well! Charlie Cox reprising the role of Matt Murdock in Spider-Man: No Way Home appears to be a given, and bringing back Vincent D'Onofrio as a rebooted Wilson Fisk makes just as much sense (we could live with other Netflix characters being recast, but not these two).
Fisk being responsible for Echo's desire to kill Ronin isn't surprising, while the reveal that he's pulling Eleanor Bishop's strings is equally as expected given some of her actions in the show thus far.
So, what's our "bold" prediction? Well, we don't think The Kingpin will look quite the same as he did the last time he appeared on the small screen. It's hard to say how Marvel Studios will pull this off, but when Fisk is revealed as the big bad - even if he never crosses paths with the two Hawkeyes - we expect him to look a lot closer to his comic book counterpart thanks to visual effects!
2. Clint Barton Retires
After those first two episodes, it's hard to not want Clint and Kate's team-up to continue indefinitely on Disney+. Honestly, we wouldn't be at all surprised to get a season 2 announcement in the closing credits, but if that is the case, it will likely just put the spotlight on the MCU's new Hawkeye.
At this point, all Clint wants to do is get home to spend the holidays with his family, but after spending time with Kate and being forced to confront the sins of his past through both Echo and Yelena...well, now feels like the right time to hang up his bow. That's not to say this original Avenger can't or won't return, of course, but Kate definitely deserves to be Hawkeye in her own right.
We don't think Clint is going to die as that would be one hell of a bummer for a Christmastime story, so this feels like the next best option and a good way to set the stage for the MCU's future.
1. A Daredevil Tease
The final episode of Hawkeye will arrive on Disney+ the week after Spider-Man: No Way Home swings into theaters. Assuming Charlie Cox does make his MCU debut there as Matt Murdock, then there's really no reason we couldn't get a post-credits scene setting the stage for Echo that includes the Man Without Fear (suited up, hopefully).
A stinger like that would serve as the perfect follow-up to this Matt's big screen debut, and nicely teases the role he'll likely play in this shared world moving forward.
Remember, Echo has previously been described as Daredevil season 4, and it makes sense for Matt to be involved with Maya Lopez's quest for revenge against Wilson Fisk. We're keeping everything crossed this comes to pass because it would be a downright jaw-dropping cameo.