The Director of Visual Development at Marvel Studios recently shared initial concept art for Hawkeye which featured an unused costume design for Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop.Andy Park posted the concept art on Twitter, explaining, "An EARLY concept design I did of what Hailee Steinfeld could look like as Kate Bishop." The artist also gave a shoutout to Rodney Fuentebella, who ultimately took over the role as Hawkeye's Visual Development Supervisor from Park and delivered Steinfeld's final look for the Disney+ series. Park concluded his post by sharing, "Loved working on this show."
As Park's art shows, Kate's eventual onscreen costume didn't stray too far from his early concept art. The purple top, dark pants, and combat boot combination - naturally accessorized with a bow and arrow – certainly made its way onto the screen in Disney+’s Hawkeye. However, the tank-top and long gloves employed by Park gave Kate a stretch of shoulder skin that harkened closer to the character's appearance in Matt Fraction and David Aja’s Hawkeye comic, which inspired the series.
One costume element from the comics, Kate's purple-tinted sunglasses, was notably absent in both Park and Fuentebella's versions of the arrow-slinging hero. And while several fans of the comics mentioned the missing accessory, most expressed their love for Park's comic-inspired design. Park's Twitter post also opened the door for comparison between his design and the final product seen in Hawkeye, despite his emphasis on the fact his design came about extremely early in the show’s development process.
Park has been engaging and captivating MCU fans on social media in a similar manner for years by sharing his designs for beloved characters and concept art for various Marvel Cinematic Universe projects. In addition to his work on Hawkeye, Park's impressive portfolio includes contributions to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, WandaVision and Captain Marvel, as well as the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder and The Marvels.
It's also worth pointing out that the crime-fighting get-up ultimately donned by Steinfeld in Hawkeye evolved throughout the series itself and now lives on as a character skin in both Marvel's Avengers and Fortnite. As with other MCU heroes, it's also possible Steinfeld's costume will continue to change in subsequent appearances, which could present the opportunity for fans to see Steinfeld donning a design reminiscent of Park's in later installments of a sprawling franchise.
All six episodes of Hawkeye are streaming now on Disney+.