Hawkeye Director Rhys Thomas Reveals Die Hard, Christmas Movie Inspirations

Marvel’s Hawkeye TV series has been getting Die Hard comparisons ever since its first trailer dropped. The premise of Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) on the run from bad guys in New York City over the Christmas holiday seemed too close to the Die Hard franchise formula to be a coincidence – not to mention quite a few of the Hawkeye set-pieces look like they were custom-made for John McClane. Well, a new interview with one of the directors of Hawkeye, Rhys Thomas, confirms what just how much influence the
Die Hard series had on this new Marvel Cinematic Universe show. 

During his interview with Comicbook.com, Rhys Thomas conceded that yes, Marvel fans are right to associate what they’ve seen from Hawkeye with the Die Hard franchise. At the same time, Rhys also makes it clear that fans shouldn’t look at just Die Hard as the source of inspiration for Hawkeye: 

“People mentioned Die Hard being one side of things, but yeah. I mean Home Alone is definitely a big atmospheric Christmas touchstone… both the original and Lost In New York. Yeah, I don’t know. Like I, kinda, again, I would just do, I mean, Gremlins as well. It’s like… I’m the type of person that sort of whether a direct reference makes it into a show or a movie or not, I will take any excuse to sort of keep plumbing my memory, my cultural memory.”

So, it sounds like Hawkeye was inspired by the general run of now-iconic late-80s and early-90s movies. However, references like Gremlins will certainly make Marvel fans even more curious to know how that film (and others like Home Alone) show themselves in Hawkeye’s storyline. The Home Alone reference may be a case of Rhys Thomas letting on more than he meant to, as some earlier set photos, combined with marketing footage, combined with Thomas’ movie references, could point to the kind of finale fight Hawkeye could have in store for fans. If that entails Renner’s Clint Barton and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop going up against a squad of mercs and killers in a booby-trapped house, we’d be there for it! 

ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis shared this early reaction to Hawkeye with Marvel fans: 

“#Hawkeye opens on a really cool sequence that is super rewarding for long time MCU fans. I loved it. Hailee Steinfeld is a great, energized Kate Bishop. Great new addition who hits the mark! The future for Kate & Clint’s dynamic seems really, really fun. Watched 2 eps, want 3!”

Hawkeye starts streaming on Disney+ pm Thursday, November 24th.