Was Hawkeye's Kate Bishop Snapped Out Of Existence By Thanos?

Marvel's "Hawkeye" series, currently in the middle of its run on Disney+, has introduced us to a brand new hero in the form of Kate Bishop. Taking after Jeremy Renner's Clint Barton and played by Hailee Steinfeld, she is a skilled archer and looks to potentially take up that mantle in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the show has left one lingering question through its first few episodes. Namely, did Kate get snapped to dust by Thanos? Now, we have an answer.

Warning: spoilers ahead for "Hawkeye." Proceed with caution.

The opening of the show sees Kate Bishop, roughly 9 or 10 years of age (though it's not explicitly stated) during the events of 2012's "The Avengers" at the battle of New York. Hawkeye inadvertently saves her life and thus, her obsession with archery and heroism begins. We pick up with Kate in her twenties in the main portion of the show, which takes place after the events of "Avengers: Endgame." So, was Kate brought back by Tony Stark's snap? Or was she around for the full five-year ride on Earth following "Infinity War?" In an interview with The Wrap, Steinfeld provided a definitive answer.

"No, I believe that we see her survive and we see, you know, loss there as well. And that didn't happen to her."

So there we have it. Kate, like half of the population in the universe, was left to suffer the aftermath of Thanos' deadly snap. But the fact that we even had to ask this question opens up a can of worms that the MCU now has to contend with in the aftermath of "Endgame."

"Infinity War" takes place around 2018. However, the bulk of "Endgame" takes place five years after the fact, putting it approximately in 2023. Given that the movie was released in 2019, that was one hell of a leap forward. That has provided a bit of a mess for every MCU project that is coming in Phase 4, as the timeline has to be sorted out. "Hawkeye" somewhat vaguely takes place in "present day." Renner also explained recently that it takes place "pretty much as it's released." This to say, we don't have an exact date pinned on the show.

With regards to Kate's age, if she had been snapped away, she would seemingly be a lot younger than she is in the show. But the messy timeline doesn't help matters any, and the fact that this is a question that needs to be addressed for pretty much every character we meet in the MCU from here on out might become a bit tedious. Perhaps at some point it's something we'll move on from. Though a cosmically massive event like that isn't likely something that the world's people would forget, even years removed from it.

"Hawkeye" returns with new episodes Wednesdays on Disney+.