Jeremy Renner declined ‘Hawkeye’ season two over salary being cut in half

Jeremy Renner has revealed why Hawkeye season two hasn’t happened yet – see what he had to say below.

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Renner has portrayed the character of Clint Barton, also known as Hawkeye, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, since his debut as the character in 2011’s Thor. Between then and now, he’s played the role in four feature films and in the 2021 Disney+ series Hawkeye.

Four years after the release of his Disney+ series – which also starred Hailee Steinfeld, he’s revealed why a second season hasn’t been picked up yet. Speaking to High Performance recently, the Hurt Locker actor revealed that it’s due to a substantial pay dispute.

“They asked me to do Season Two, and they offered me half the money. 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,’” he said.

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Jeremy Renner reveals why Hawkeye Season 2 never happened… Jeremy’s episode with us is available now, exclusively on the High Performance App! Jeremy Renner’s ‘My Next Breath’ is available in all formats now, published by Simon & Schuster UK #avengers #jeremyrenner #hawkeye #hawkeyeseason2 #disneyplus

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He went on to suggest that his near-fatal accident in 2023 could’ve played a role in showrunners wanting to cut his salary by 50 per cent: “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.’”

• READ MORE: What happened to Jeremy Renner? Here’s everything we know about the actor’s accident

However, Renner was quick to disclaim that behind the decision was “not Marvel… 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 at the insult offer. So we didn’t see eye to eye on it,” Renner continued.

Renner also made sure that he wasn’t permanently ruling out a return to the character: “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 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.”

As for the accident he referred to, Jeremy Renner was left in a critical condition after being run over by his 14,000-pound PistenBully snowcat on New Year’s Day in January 2023. He was airlifted to hospital, where he underwent several operations to treat his injuries.

Having made a full recovery, Renner returned to work last year. In a recent interview with Good Morning America, he discussed how it felt being back on set of his Paramount+ crime thriller, Mayor Of Kingstown. He marked the second anniversary of his accident in January, where he thanked those who saved his life.

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