‘Hawkeye’ Doesn’t Have a Season 2 Because Jeremy Renner Felt Insulted

The MCU has a bumpy television history. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. started strong, syncing up with Captain America and the Winter Soldier in a way that has yet to be matched. Then, it began to pull farther and farther away from the universe that spawned it until it no longer felt important to the larger narrative (still fun, though). The Netflix shows were solidly anchored by three entertaining seasons of Daredevil, but the connectivity was spotty. And despite good freshman seasons, the other shows never matched Daredevil’s success (and Iron Fist never came close). Were it not for Anson Mount’s return in The Multiverse of Madness, most people would have forgotten that an Inhumans show even existed.

It was Marvel making its way to Disney+ that bore the best fruit. Shows like Wandavision, Loki, and (to a lesser extent) Falcon and the Winter Soldier held audiences captive with stories ripped straight from and important to the larger universe (though they were assisted by everyone being stuck at home). Still, the quality was there. The shows felt like movies for better and for worse. Swings were being taken, characters were being studied, and all on absurd budgets that would make you question how this could be profitable (spoiler alert: it isn’t). Now, four years later, Marvel has scaled back their shows, returned to the Daredevil well, and apparently tried to squeeze some extra work out of Jeremy Renner.

Renner’s character Hawkeye was given his own show on the network, which was also released in 2021, like the three shows I just mentioned. Four shows (five, if you include What if…?, which Dustin wouldn’t)! That’s insane! It’s no wonder that the diminishing returns came on sooner rather than later. Hawkeye was the last of the 2021-released shows, and it was fine. Hailee Steinfeld was fun, and it took a step toward bringing Daredevil back into the MCU, but I wasn’t clamoring for a new season when it ended. If you ask Jeremy Renner, neither was Marvel. At least not enough to offer him his proper bag.

The Hurt Locker star recently appeared on the High Performance podcast and explained that Marvel wanted a second season of Hawkeye, but wanted to reduce his salary. “They asked me to do Season 2, and they offered me half the money,” he explained on the show. “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.’” Woof! Not only is the man a founding Avenger, he’s one of the stars of the show! It’s named after him! Trying to get him to return for less money is not cute, as the children say.

Ole Jeremy was not amused by the offer. “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.’” Renner had been severely injured by a snowplow in 2023, and I thought he was being wry when I read that he made this comment. But you can watch the video below. He seems pretty pissed, and I can’t say that I blame him. That said, he doesn’t seem to hold anything against Marvel or Disney. He even makes an excuse for it happening.

“This is not Marvel, mind you. This is like, just Disney, 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 insult offer. So we didn’t see eye to eye on it,” Renner noted, leaving the door open. “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 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.”

Given that Secret Wars will likely cost half a billion dollars and require the return of anyone who has ever stepped foot in the MCU, I’m sure Renner will be back. He seems open to it. Still, he must be pretty sure of that as well, because people have been fired for saying less than he did in this interview. I guess the rules are different for founding members, or we’ll see a multiversal replacement for Renner come 2027. Jack O’Connell, perhaps? One of them Yellowstone folks? I dunno.

@high_performance 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 ♬ original sound - High Performance