With the space between The Avengers and the inevitable sequel to hit 3 years later, I figured there may be some cast shake-ups, and the current rumor circulating around is that Jeremy Renner may not be reprising his role as Hawkeye.
A “Hollywood Source” told CBM that Hawkeye and Jeremy Renner’s involvement in Marvel’s Phase 2 of films may be in jeopardy due to some comments he made about his character’s portrayal in The Avengers – which to my recollection were made months ago:
“For 90 percent of the movie, I’m not the character I signed on to play,” Renner said to Total Film. “It’s kind of a vacancy. [He’s] not even a bad guy, because there’s not really a consciousness to him. To take away who that character is and just have him be this robot, essentially, and have him be this minion for evil that Loki uses … I was limited, you know what I mean? I was a terminator in a way. Fun stunts. But is there any sort of emotional content or thought process? No.”
Okay, Renner, fair enough. However, I thought Hawkeye’s “turn to the dark side” played a fairly important role inThe Avengersand by the end of the film, he was back to his badass former self, standing up against an alien invasion with a bow and arrow. But, I can see where he is coming from with the “limitations” of the role. The character of Hawkeye has a pretty shady past, and in other forms of media he’s appeared in (cartoons, comics, etc.) it makes for a pretty interesting and compelling character. For the Marvel movie universe though, he is very much a secondary character, and we only find out bits about him through conversations with others; given the size of the roster, it’s doubtful this archer would ever be fully explored.
CBM also notes:
No surprise since Hawkeye has not been mentioned once in Marvel’s Phase 2 by studio president Kevin Feige or Phase 2 helmer Joss Whedon. Renner’s best chance to reprise his character—pre-Avengers 2—would’ve been in the heavily S.H.I.E.L.D. featured Captain America: The Winter Soldier. But with new S.H.I.E.L.D. additions Agent 13 and the Falcon being introduced, Hawkeye would have once again been more in the background and probably continuing to anger Renner.
The source hints that there’s the tiniest chance Renner will reprise his role in The Avengers Sequel but the source also said there is a greater chance Hawkeye will be recast (like War Machine and the Hulk have been recast before). Finally, the source said if Hawkeye is to be recast there is a solid chance he could be incorporated into the new television show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. as a primary character.
Well, this just got a little more interesting. Even with being just a supporting character, I really enjoyed Renner as Hawkeye, however the thought of the role being recast and the character moving to the upcoming S.H.I.E.L.D. television series sounds pretty intriguing to me, and frankly, perhaps a better fit?
Taking a step back, the Marvel cinematic universe is growing quickly. We had the culmination of 5 films result in The Avengers, and Iron Man 3 just kicked off phase 2. There are plans to introduce even more characters, and now on top of all this, we are getting an awesome-looking television show set in the same universe. I have faith the Marvel will put all the right pieces in the right spot. I’m sure we will get some “low-tiered” superheroes popping up on the S.H.I.E.L.D. television show, and some more heavy hitters popping up in the various films already filming and in development, and hopefully it will all fill like a fluid universe – perhaps a recast Hawkeye on television will prove a better fit and give fans of the character far more of him than they would get in cameos in films.
However, keep in mind that at this point, this is a rumor. Hopefully someone from Marvel, or Renner himself, will come forward with some information soon.
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What do you think the best route for the portrayal of Hawkeye is going forward? Are you hoping Jeremy Renner reprises the role in Avengers 2? Or are you hoping he’ll be recast and have a larger role in the S.H.I.E.L.D. television series? Sound off below!