Jeremy Renner, beloved for portraying Clint Barton in Marvel’s Hawkeye, has confirmed he turned down a second season of the Disney+ series due to a drastic salary reduction.
In a candid interview on the High Performance podcast. The54-year-old actor revealed Disney offered him half his Season 1 pay, a move he deemed disrespectful, especially following his near-fatal accident in 2023.
“They asked me to do Season 2, and they offered me half the money,” Renner said. “I’m like, ‘It’s going to take twice the work for half the money. And eight months of my time?’” Referencing the January 2023 snowplow incident that left him with 32 broken bones. Including a collapsed lung and fractured ribs, he quipped. “Did you think I’m only half the Jeremy because I got ran over?”
Renner, who underwent extensive rehabilitation to return to acting stressed he wasn’t seeking a raise—just the same pay as Season 1. “I told them to go fly a kite,” he added. Blaming Disney’s “penny-pinching accountants,” not Marvel Studios, for the “insult offer.”
2021 Hawkeye series co-starring Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop. Earned a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score and peaked at 938 million viewing minutes during its finale week.
Despite fan enthusiasm and Marvel’s Head of Television, Brad Winderbaum, expressing interest in a second season, no official renewal has been announced. Renner’s refusal stems from Disney’s shift to lower-budget TV productions post-2023 contrast to the movie-like budgets of earlier MCU shows. This isn’t an isolated case—Carrie Coon and John Malkovich also cited salary disputes for declining MCU roles.
Renner remains fond of Clint Barton, noting. “I still love the character and would love to do it, but I had to defend myself.” His physical recovery,detailed in his memoir My Next Breath. Makes the demanding eight-month shoot a significant commitment further justifying his stance.
Meanwhile, co-star Florence Pugh reprises her role as Yelena Belova in Thunderbolts, set for release this week. While Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop appeared briefly in The Marvels (2023).
With Renner absent from the announced Avengers: Doomsday cast, his MCU future is uncertain. Fans hope Disney reconsiders their offer, as Renner’s dynamic with Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop remains a highlight of the Multiverse Saga.
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For now, Renner focuses on projects like Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 and Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. While his body “thanks” him for avoiding the grueling Hawkeye schedule.
