Jeremy Renner (Photo : Dimitrios Kambouris | Getty Images Entertainment)
"Captain America: Civil War" will host more than a dozen Marvel Cinematic superheroes and it is likely that the number will be reduced by the time the credits roll.
As the Cinematic Universe seems weak in their portrayal of villains (Loki being the glaring exception), the most exciting conflicts will be among the heroes themselves and speculation abounds that there might be some costly collateral damage.
A feature on What Culture had a countdown on which hero is "most likely to die." This exercise is nothing new as it has been done for "Avengers: Age of Ultron" as well.
Steve Rogers was a logical choice based on the comic book story arc, not Captain America, as the title and the shield can be assumed by someone else, but Chris Evans' character. However, it has been a standard procedure for the MCU to deviate from the plot.
Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye/Clint Barton was the prime candidate to bid farewell for Ultron but the speculation was all proven false as Hawkeye cheated death at Quicksilver's expense.
Not only that, Barton's character was expanded as he was given a backstory (that he had his own family) and a very integral role (being the only one not to fall under mind control). Not to mention, Jeremy Renner has been on public appearances talking about a possible Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy crossover.
His brush with death may be seen as "foreshadowing" and his appearances are called "misdirection" in the game of cat-and-mouse between the studios and the internet blogosphere that has sought spoilers at every turn.
"He's not out of the woods yet," surmised What Culture. "He may have survived Ultron, but to kill him off now would be less predictable, and make it even more tragic, without drastically altering the state of things too much for the future."
Hawkeye also made a similar list in Cinema Blend which even speculated the scene where he'll be eliminated.
"There will be an incident involving the Avengers that leads to the Superhuman Registration Act being passed. Perhaps during this incident Hawkeye is killed in action, which is one of the ways a rift divides the team."
Did the pundits get it right this time? May 6, 2016 is the date that holds the answer.
