Why wasn’t [spoiler] in Avengers: Infinity War?

Haven’t seen Avengers: Infinity War in theaters yet? Major spoilers ahead! Seriously. Look away now.

A lot of secrecy and mystery surrounded Avengers: Infinity War. Who will die? Who will survive? Will Thanos be defeated before he snaps his fingers? And, finally, where is Jeremy Renner’s Clint Barton aka Hawkeye. Renner’s character is missing in the trailers, teasers, posters — the entire promotional campaign efforts completely leave out Hawkeye. So why are we so shocked he didn’t make it to the movie?

Hawkeye is an Avengers’ OG. Fans were quick to notice him missing from the first trailer. “Surely he’ll be in the other promotional teasers, there’s just too many characters to feature,” we thought. Nope. Hawkeye is nowhere to be seen. But instead of assuming he’s not in the movie, multiple theories were born.

Clint is not in Avengers: Infinity War at all. But he is mentioned when one of the characters asks about him. What’s he up to? Enjoying retirement with his wife and children. This isn’t just any retirement, though, it’s more like house arrest. Clint and Scott aka Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) made a deal with the government instead of joining Captain American. Both men have children and would rather be near them than running from place to place. Makes sense. We’ll probably learn more about these deals in an upcoming movie.

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The actor was spotted filming, however, so we know Hawkeye will be featured in Avengers 4. And due to him missing out on Infinity War, he’ll more than likely play a bigger part in the next movie. In fact, one of the original theories, backed up by comics, can still be true.

Hawkeye will appear in A4 as Ronin. Thanos’ snap will impact Hawkeye as his family are some of the many vanishing victims. Hawkeye will be wanting revenge, as well as a way to reverse the genocide.

Next: Avengers: Infinity War is all playful banter before it gets dark

Avengers: Infinity War is playing in theaters. 

Up next for the Marvel Cinematic Universe is Ant-Man and the Wasp on July 6, 2018, followed by Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019.