Hawkeye’s Jeremy Renner explains how his experiences being hard of hearing mirror Clint Barton’s hearing loss in the upcoming Marvel/Disney+ series.

Hawkeye’s Jeremy Renner explains how Clint Barton’s hearing loss in the show mirrors the real-life experiences of both himself and others. Marvel Studios’ fourth live-action series on Disney+ will finally give Renner his own solo outing alongside Hailee Steinfeld as super-fan and protégé Kate Bishop. The pair will be joined by canine companion Lucky the Pizza Dog, who Clint adopts in the comics after finding him severely beaten by the Mafia. Johnathan Igla’s series is inspired by (and loosely based on) Matt Fraction and David Aja’s popular Hawkeye comic, My Life As A Weapon. Hawkeye’s cast also includes Florence Pugh as Black Widow's Yelena Belova, Alaqua Cox as Echo, Fra Fee as The Clown, Vera Farmiga as Eleanor Bishop, and Brian d’Arcy James.

In the wake of the blip in Avengers: Endgame, Hawkeye will see Clint spending the holidays in New York City with his family until he becomes sidetracked when confronted by enemies from his past as Ronin. On top of that, Kate has taken it upon herself to embrace the Ronin persona. Outside of that, Hawkeye presents the opportunity to explore Clint’s comic-accurate storylines like never before in the MCU. In addition to characters like Kate and Lucky coming into the mix, the series will see its eponymous character dealing with the hearing loss that has long plagued him in the pages of Marvel Comics.

ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis (via The Illuminerdi) recently hosted Hawkeye’s official press conference featuring the show’s cast and crew. During the event, Renner talked about how excited he is to finally be exploring his character’s comic-book hearing loss in the Disney+ series. He even opened up about dealing with his own hearing problems and the dynamics of portraying that disability on screen. Read what he had to say below:

“A lot of that’s in my life. I’m only hard of hearing, so I’m not deaf ... I thought it was just a really wonderful thing, cause it is, it’s always been a part of Clint’s character in the comics, and we found a way to make it a truthful entry point for his life and how it affects his life. And now, there is a wonderful vulnerability that comes in. There’s a lot of ties into other characters because of it, in a fun way, in a negative way, in a positive way, it’s really really interesting there. I found it to be quite a dynamic, interesting ... Sometimes an obstacle, sometimes an asset not being able to hear.”

It’s been known for a while that Clint would lose his hearing in Hawkeye via images of Renner filming with a hearing aid. In Fraction’s comic, Kazimierz “Kazi” Kazimierczak/The Clown (Free) and a member of the Tracksuit Draculas, who stabs the archer in his ears with arrows, rupturing his eardrums. It’s unclear if the series will see Clint lose his hearing in a similar way to the comic storyline. Regardless, Hawkeye is set to feature the deaf hero Echo (Alaqua Cox) who will surely aid Clint before spinning off into her own Disney+ series.

Although Hawkeye is one of the founding Avengers, his series will tackle his hearing loss for the first time in the MCU. The show quickly follows the release of Eternals, which introduced the MCU's first deaf superhero in Lauren Ridloff’s Makkari, Clint and Echo will be the second and third hearing-impaired lead characters to be featured in the universe. It remains to be seen how all of this will be portrayed in Hawkeye, but the series appears to be following Fraction’s comic relatively closely, with Marvel Studios’ doing its best to honor its characters. Audiences will be able to see Hawkeye’s latest adventure and have their questions answered on November 24 when the series finally premieres.

More: Every Upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe Movie & TV Show In Development

Source: ComicBook.com (via The Illuminerdi)