Jeremy Renner Almost Turned Down Hawkeye For A Crazy Reason
During an interview with Vanity Fair, Jeremy Renner revealed that his multi-picture deal scared him. It wasn't the commitment exactly. It was one important detail.
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After seeing Robert Downey Jr. in 2008’s Iron Man, Jeremy Renner was excited when he got the opportunity to join the growing Marvel Cinematic Universe as Clint Barton. However, when he saw the terms of his contract, he hesitated as he looked ahead at his acting future. Today, that may seem strange. Hawkeye is one of the founding members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Avengers. He is a major star that’s been a part of the franchise for over a decade. However, if he’d been told he would still be in the role today, he might not have signed his contract. During an interview with Vanity Fair, Jeremy Renner revealed that his multi-picture deal scared him. It wasn’t the commitment exactly. It was his costume.
I remember going in to talk with [Marvel Studios president] Kevin Feige and [Marvel Studios co-president] Lou D’Esposito, and they’d show me the Ultimates version of Hawkeye. Iron Man had come out, and I said, ‘I’m into what you guys are doing because I loved Iron Man. I like how you made Iron Man plausible. So that’s where they wanted to go with [Hawkeye]. I’m like, ‘Great!’ You gotta kinda sign on for a bunch of Avengers films and potential Hawkeye films, kind of sign your life away. I’m like, ‘Wait, I might be 50 in tights.”… That was my main concern. I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this. I don’t know if anyone wants to see me in tights at 50.’
Jeremy Renner
Today, Jeremy Renner is 50 years old and playing Clint Barton on his new Disney+ series, Hawkeye. While he is wearing some form-fitting outfits, he hasn’t exactly been wearing tights, so hopefully, he managed to work that part of his contract out. Considering that he could have been dressed more like Robin Hood, his costume for Hawkeye is pretty casual. While he shared that the idea of tights held him up, he didn’t reveal what ultimately changed his mind and convinced him to sign the multi-picture deal.
Today, many actors jump at the opportunity to join a mega-franchise like Marvel, so it’s hard to imagine that, like Jeremy Renner, a lot of actors were hesitant when the Marvel Cinematic Universe got its start. Robert Downey Jr. famously had to fight to land his role as Tony Stark. It’s hard to imagine anyone else ever playing the part, but at the time, Marvel wasn’t sure about him. It turned out that he was a great bet. When the studio went after Chris Evans to play Captain America, the actor turned down the role multiple times. Like Renner, he wasn’t interested in the multi-picture deal contract. Ultimately, Robert Downey Jr. talked to Chris Evans and convinced him to take on the role.
So far, the first two episodes of Jeremy Renner’s new Hawkeye series are available for streaming on Disney+. A few months ago, it was revealed that the show would be a Christmas special. The show has turned out to be heavily based on the comics by Matt Fraction and David Aja.
Currently, some fans of the comics are boycotting the new Disney+ series in support of the work of David Aja. The artist’s work has been taken as inspiration for all the marketing materials for Jeremy Renner’s new show. A look at the show’s poster up against the covers of the comics confirms this. The look was helping draw the interest of fans of the comics, who were hopeful the storylines would stay true, but fans have since learned that David Aja isn’t getting the credit or payments they feel the artist is due. While the show lists David Aja in the Thank You credits, they aren’t paying him for his work.
Because Disney+ doesn’t share their streaming information, it is unknown if the boycott reported on social media is having any effect on the success of Jeremy Renner’s new series.
