'Hawkeye' And 'Ms. Marvel' Will Premiere On Disney+ Before The End Of The Year

Marvel's Vice President of film production, Victoria Alonso, recently gave us the news of the studio's grand ambitions for expanding into the world of animation...and she's not stopping there. Marvel still has plenty of irons in the fire when it comes to live action, not the least of which are some upcoming Disney+ shows that longtime fans have been waiting to see realized. Luckily, it doesn't seem like they'll have to wait much longer.

According to Variety, Alonso confirmed that both Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel will be appearing on Disney+ for subscribers before the year is out. Not only that, but it seems "a few other shows" in addition to these two will also be on the docket. After an unusually long break from Marvel productions last year as a result of the pandemic, 2021 is certainly looking like it will make up for it (and then some).

In reference to recently released Disney+ shows like WandaVision, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and most recently Loki, Alonso enthuses about how much of a "gift" it is that streaming has allowed a brand new avenue to fully flesh out certain characters.

"When the chance of being a part of this streaming world came about, we were beyond excited because all of a sudden we could actually give the fans far more than 1/4 of a page or three cool moves."

Though widely enjoyed by general audiences and fans alike, these shows haven't entirely been without their detractors. Alonso recognizes the tricky balancing act between taking fan considerations to heart and simply doing what's best for the story at hand, saying:

"I think it's important to consistently listen to what fans are saying. If there's a vast majority that feels that something is not hitting home, then we need to look at it, but then there's times where we say, 'You know what, this is a story we're gonna tell."

In many ways, these two upcoming shows represent an important next step for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Hawkeye sees the return of Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton. Similar to Black Widow, however, a younger star in Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop will also be co-starring and appears set to take the reins from the much more established bow-wielding Avenger. And don't forget, Florence Pugh's Yelena is also set as a recurring character in the series, making the connections between the two productions even more apparent.Ms. Marvel, meanwhile, will serve as the debut for Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and strengthen ties between Disney+ and the Captain Marvel movies. Brie Larson is sure to be a mainstay in the MCU for years and years to come, of course, so this will likely resemble some Miles Morales and Peter Parker mentor/mentee storylines rather than a straightforward passing of the torch.

A key characteristic of Marvel comics has been a revolving door of Avengers members at any given time, and we've now reached the point in the MCU where we can expect more and more roster changes to come. It's good timing, too, as complaints about franchise fatigue have only grown louder and mixing things up will hopefully lead to more creative storytelling. With any luck, Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel will prove this to be the case. Expect both of these series to drop to much fanfare in the upcoming months.