Jeremy Renner is opening up about the real reason Hawkeye Season 2 hasn’t taken aim yet — and it has nothing to do with archery skills. In a candid new interview on the High Performance podcast, Renner revealed that he was approached for a second season of the Disney+ Marvel series, but the offer left him stunned: “They asked me to do Season 2, and they offered me half the money,” Renner said. “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.’”
The actor, who debuted as Clint Barton in 2011’s Thor and last appeared alongside Hailee Steinfeld in the well-received Disney+ series in 2021, didn’t hold back on what he saw as an insulting lowball — and speculated that his near-fatal 2023 snowplow accident might have had something to do with it. “I’m like, ‘I’m sorry? Why? Did you think I’m only half the Jeremy because I got ran over?’” Renner said, referencing the January 1st accident that left him with devastating injuries, including eight ribs broken in 14 places and multiple fractures to his legs, ankles, clavicle, and shoulder.
What Happened to Jeremy Renner?
The Hawkeye star was crushed by his 14,000-pound Sno-Cat while trying to help his nephew out of the snow near his home in Lake Tahoe. His long recovery included months of rehabilitation and physical therapy — and clearly, some hard conversations with the studio.
“This is not Marvel, mind you. This is just Disney, not even really Disney. It’s just the penny pinchers, the accountants. I told them to go fly a kite… I mean, just at the insult offer. So we didn’t see eye to eye on it.”
Despite the fallout, Renner isn’t shutting the door on Clint Barton completely, which means perhaps we’ll see a return for Hawkeye when Avengers: Secret Wars rolls round, considering he didn’t get a chair for Doomsday.
“Sadly, I still love the character. I’d still love to do it, but I had to defend myself. I didn’t ask for any more money, mind you. Just pay me what I made the first season. So it’s all disheartening that that didn’t happen, but that’s fine. I’m happy to let that go, because my body’s probably thanking me, time and time again, that I’m not doing it right now. But we’ll see.”
Hawkeye is streaming now on Disney+
via Collider