In a new interview, actor Jeremy Renner revealed the reason he rejected an offer from Marvel to reprise his role in “Hawkeye” for a second season.
Jeremy Renner Rejected ‘Hawkeye’ Offer
“Hawkeye” is an original Disney+ series that ran for a total of six episodes beginning on November 24, 2021. The series had “Avengers” star Jeremy Renner return as Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye. The show also stars Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, and Alaqua Cox as Echo.
As reported by Deadline, Jeremy Renner has revealed that he has rejected an offer from Marvel and Disney to reprise his role as the titular character in “Hawkeye.” This news comes after reports in February that Brad Winderbaum, the head of streaming, television, and animation at Marvel Studios, was potentially working on a second season of the Disney+ series.
According to Deadline, Renner described in an interview how he was offered half of his original salary from the first season to continue playing the character:
They asked me to do Season 2, and they offered me half the money. I’m like, ‘Well, it’s going to take me twice the amount of work for half the amount of money, and eight months of my time, essentially, to do it for half the amount.
— Jeremy Renner via Deadline
Renner specifically mentioned that his salary was likely cut due to his extreme accident in 2023, which involved the actor getting pulled under a snowplow as he reportedly stopped the vehicle from hitting his nephew. Renner’s accident was nearly fatal, and he shared several social media updates throughout 2023 as he practiced walking again after electric stimulation on his legs and weeks of physical rehab.
Renner called Marvel’s offer an “insult,” mentioning that he didn’t ask for any more money than his contract for season one of the show:
I’m like, ‘I’m sorry. Why did you think I’m only half the Jeremy because I got ran over? Maybe that’s why you want to pay me half of what I made on the first season?’ This is not Marvel. This isn’t not really Disney, it’s just the penny pinchers — the accountants.
— Jeremy Renner via Deadline
The article concludes with a quote from Renner that “I still love the character,” and “I’d still love to do it but I had to defend myself.” With this news, it remains to be seen if a second season of “Hawkeye” will ever happen, or if Marvel will choose to shelve the project.
A series titled “Echo” with Alaqua Cox reprising her character, officially began production in 2022. The series was pushed back in the Marvel release calendar before eventually premiering in 2024. Meanwhile, Florence Pugh recently reprised her role as Yelena Belova in “Thunderbolts*.”
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