Jeremy Renner has explained the surprising reason why Hawkeye season 2 never happened. During an appearance on the High Performance podcast, the Marvel star claimed that he was offered a halved salary to reprise his role as Clint Barton.
Apparently, Disney+ was keen to make a second season of the Marvel show with Renner, but he was unimpressed with their financial offer. “They asked me to do season 2, and they offered me half the money,” Renner explained, specifying that Disney accountants were the issue, not the creative team at Marvel. “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.”
Hawkeye debuted on Disney + in 2021 and delved into Clint Barton’s family life and his mentorship to Kate Bishop (played by Sinners actor Hailee Steinfeld). It co-starred Florence Pugh, Vera Farmiga, and Tony Dalton. The show received positive reviews, with critics praising the action sequences and the chemistry between Renner and Steinfeld.
The Hurt Locker actor proceeded to reference his horrific snowplow accident when musing why Disney would cut his salary in half. “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,’” he said.
Renner broke more than 30 bones and suffered blunt chest trauma after he was run down by a snowplow on New Year’s Day 2023. He believes he died during their incident, reportedly claiming he momentarily passed away after 30 minutes lying on the ice. It took him three months to walk again, aided by a cane, but he has since returned to work. Since his recovery, he has starred in the third season of the Paramount+ series Mayor of Kingstown and is set to appear in the upcoming Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery.
Renner claims he told the studio "to go fly a kite" over that insulting offer but admits it may have been the best thing for his recovery. "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."
It’s not all bad news, Renner said he would love to reprise the role as the archer in the future, on just one condition. “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.”
Marvel and Disney have not commented on Renner's claims, and it is unclear if a second season will happen without the actor's involvement. There were rumors floating around online that Clint's brother, Barney/Trickshot, would play a major role and that the season would be inspired by The Raid. While we would love to see that show, it's understandable that Renner would not be okay with such a big pay cut.
Hailee Steinfeld has expressed her interest in returning as Kate Bishop, hoping to continue "to grow with a character like Kate." It would be a shame to waste a character like Kate Bishop and an actress like Steinfeld in the MCU.
Hawkeye is available to stream now on Disney +.