When it comes to underused characters inside Marvel’s cinematic universe, I don’t think there’s one that tops Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye. Reiner made his debut as the powerful bow in 2011’s Thor, which was then followed up by The Avengers the following year. Unfortunately, while being a part of both major ensemble pieces in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War, the character has sadly been, for the most part, pushed to the background. But hopefully that’s about to change.

Renner has been quite busy as of late, as he’s been on the road promoting his new film Wind River, which also stars his MCU co-star, Scarlet Witch herself Elizabeth Olsen. Other than now knowing he has a family and a few small washed over details about his past, not much has been revealed about Hawkeye in the MCU. Renner has said multiple times that the current state of Hawkeye isn’t the role he was originally pitched, and he’s sticking to his guns, hoping for and wanting more Clint Barton:

“Yeah. I think so. I mean, I think they’ve got a lot going on in the Marvel world and I’m just happy to be a part of it. I do want to explore more with the character. I’m down. I’m always wanting to understand Barton much more cause I think he’s just a kick a – character and I hope we get to explore a lot more. It looks like we’re going to be pretty busy for the rest of the year, so I can’t wait to see what they come up with.”

I tend to agree with Renner. Barton is an extremely interesting character inside the MCU, mainly because of the (somewhat) backstory they’ve given him to this point. I want to know how he came so loyal to Fury. What about the assignment that sent him hunting for Natasha Romanoff? What about freaking Budapest? There’s so much to be learned there, but unfortunately, they may never seen the light of day.

I’m not saying I could never seen Marvel giving him a much larger role in a film, because they could. I’m not even saying I could never see Marvel going a film that focuses on Hawkeye and Black Widow, because I can. But sadly, the truth is, characters and stories like Hawkeye get lost in the shuffle in a major tentpole franchise like the MCU when more characters like Black Panther, Spider-Man and even Doctor Strange show up. And while many will argue that his character has been pushed back more than any, the reality is that we’ve been given the backstory Marvel probably wanted to tell, and it ended up being a foundation for the character. Remember when Age of Ultron revealed the Barton family? I couldn’t lobby enough that there’s more to the character than just his family or loyalty to S.H.I.E.L.D., but which stories are going to be told? Black Panther and Spider-Man or Hawkeye?

Renner is set to appear (and hopefully have a large role) in Joe and Anthony Russo’s Avengers: Infinity War next year. With the cast being the biggest a blockbuster film has ever seen, it’s still up in the air as to how much bow slinging we’ll see. Luckily for us, we know he makes it out alive as he’ll also appear in Avengers 4 the following year. Hopefully those films not only flesh out his story more, but that it doesn’t stop there. I don’t know what Marvel and Kevin Feige have planned, but I would love to see more of ground based characters like Hawkeye or Black Widow.

What do you think? Do you want to see more of Clint Barton? Will his story continue well into Phase 4? Perhaps a solo team-up movie? Let me know in the comments. I’m ready for a conversation! The Russo’s Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on May 4th, 2018.