Marvel Star Won’t Return to Franchise After Plans to “Kill Off” Character Revealed

In 2012, The Avengers, by director Joss Whedon, captivated audiences worldwide. This groundbreaking film starred Jeremy Renner as the bow-wielding superhero Hawkeye, AKA S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Clint Barton.

Related: Marvel Star Officially Walks Away From Major Franchise, Makes Statement

The cast featured Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man/Tony Stark, Chris Evans as Captain America/Steve Rogers, Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye, and Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner/the Incredible Hulk. Samuel L. Jackson played Nick Fury, who brought these mighty heroes together to confront Tom Hiddleston’s Loki Laufeyson/Loki Odinson during his invasion of New York City.

Following Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019), Hawkeye/Clint Barton played a crucial role in defeating Thanos (Josh Brolin) alongside heroes like Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), Doctor Strange/Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), and many others.

After losing his close friend Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff, Hawkeye eventually made his return to the superhero scene with his own Disney+ series, Hawkeye (2021). This series also introduced Hailee Steinfeld as Young Avenger Kate Bishop, who becomes Hawkeye’s apprentice.

Related: Disney Replacing Jeremy Renner in ‘Hawkeye’, as Season 2 Gets Greenlight: Report

Even now, Renner has proven a mainstay of the MCU, and a particularly skilled action star of the screen — starring in iconic films and television franchises like Mission: Impossible opposite Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt) — that is, until the unfortunate incident at Renner’s Tahoe residence during New Year 2022 seemed to bench the actor from work for the indefinite future.

Jeremy Renner’s Return to Action

It has now been two years since the major incident when a snow plow struck the actor, resulting in significant blood loss and leaving his body in critical condition and even clinically “dead” at one point.

Having undergone extensive surgery and a lengthy recovery and physical rehabilitation period with family, friends and co-stars at his side, many fans are excited to see Renner return to the screen — and Renner himself seems excited at the prospect, as well.

Opening up to the Happy Sad Confused podcast with Josh Horowitz podcast (via Variety) on his potential return to the Mission: Impossible series of films, the original Avengers star was candid about why he left the franchise a few years ago.

Starring in the fourth Mission Impossible film, Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol (2011) as William Brandt, Renner returned for the fifth installment, Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation (2015).

That film’s subsequent sequel, Mission: Impossible — Fallout (2018), however, did not star Renner as IMF Agent Brandt. Instead, his character was written out of the franchise as having “retired” — something that fans at the time speculated was in part due to Renner’s The Bourne Legacy (2015) flopping at the box office after the star took over from the Bourne franchise’s former leading man, Matt Damon.

Now, Renner is admitting to having “yelled” at Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie about his character getting killed off, saying:

Dude, you’re not going to do this to me like that; you’re not going to do me wrong.

Renner discusses how he stuck to his guns about his character being mistreated:

I remember they tried to bring me over[seas] for a week so they could kill my character, and I was like, ‘No, you don’t get to do that. You’re not going to drag me over there and just kill my character,’ like get out of here!

Wanting to make sure that should he continue in the action franchise, his character’s exit would have to be “[done] right”, in his words.

In fact, Renner adds that he was actually “supposed to do more with [Mission: Impossible]” — until the studio’s intended death sentence, that is. Now, he makes it clear that he has a lot of love for the Mission: Impossible cast and franchise, giving a shout-out to Cruise himself.

However, Renner admits that despite the fun he had with the cast and his love for the character, the role “requires a lot of time away” from family and his young daughter, with filming taking place in London. He leaves fans with some hope, however, admitting that if relations haven’t soured entirely, that he would be keen to return to the role at some point:

Maybe now that my daughter is older that could happen. I’d always jump into a ‘Mission: Impossible’ anytime and back into Brandt. It’s great.

Currently, Jeremy Renner is slated to reprise the role of Mike McKlusky in Paramount+’s Mayor of Kingstown Season 3.

Hawkeye on Disney+ has reportedly been renewed for a second season, albeit with a new “brother” character and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop likely lifting most of the action weight.

What do you think about Jeremy Renner returning to the Mission: Impossible or Avengers franchises? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

More on Hawkeye