Jeremy Rennermay not often be the leading man, but he has found a really good place as a key member of the team in franchises likeMission Impossibleand of course,The Avengers.Rennerhas sort of become the “everyman” superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but if he had his way early on, that wouldn’t have been the case. Hawkeye would be dead.
Recently,Jeremy Rennertook part in a Q&A in London, andRadio Timesis reporting that he suggested killing off Hawkeye inThe Avengers. It seems like he was very unhappy with the direction that the character went for that first movie, and that was his suggested solution to the problem. Here is what he had to say.
“If you just want to kick me out of this movie. Just, you know, at any given moment, if you wanna kill me off, daddy’s gonna be having a heart attack.”
That is whatRennerclaimed he would tell directorJoss Whedonduring filming forThe Avengers. “I’m giving you an option,” he would say. Prior toThe Avengers,Rennerhad only had a couple of minutes of screen time as Hawkeye inThor, and this was his first chance to actually be the character. But less than ten minutes into the movie, he becomes a mindless bad guy, and that didn’t sit well with him.
“In the first Avengers … I was just getting to know who Hawkeye was, and then, zap, I go around like a zombie. I’m like Loki’s minion, and I’m still not even sure who Hawkeye was at that point, so I’m a little frustrated because I was so excited to figure out who Hawkeye was.”
By the end of the movie,Rennergot to flesh out Hawkeye a lot more and was definitely an actual hero. The actor got his wish in terms of being able to flesh out the character a lot more in later movies, especiallyAvengers: Age of Ultron. We got to seeHawkeye’s home lifeaway from being a superhero, and it really grounded his character. InCaptain America: Civil War, he got to be a hero who couldn’t handle retirement and showed his loyalties as a character. So there is some depth now, and that has ledRennerto rethink things a bit.
“I don’t really want him to die now. I really got to explore him a lot, and I can’t wait to explore him more, and there’s some really cool ideas coming up. Really cool ideas. Great deaths! Amazing ways to die.”
When we last leftHawkeye, he was locked up in a maximum security prison somewhere in the middle of the ocean, and it looked like Captain America was about to bust he and the other Team Cap Avengers out. We don’t know for sure when he will show up next in the MCU, but he will definitely be in forAvengers: Infinity War.Rennermay have been joking to some degree, but someAvengersare probably going to die in that movie, and who knows, maybe Clint Barton could meet a proper, heroic end? Be careful what you wish for,Jeremy.
