Jeremy Renner has hinted he will return as Hawkeye for Avengers: Doomsday, although he acknowledges the project is still in its early days.
The actor told Us Weekly he is "really excited" about Avengers: Doomsday, particularly after the shocking revelation that former Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. is taking on the role of Doctor Doom. Renner suggested he isn't the only MCU veteran who will be back, as he is also ready to pick up his bow and arrows again.
"The Avengers movies have always been fan favorites and there's so many wonderful characters in them," Renner reflected while looking to the future.
"It's going to be challenging to get everybody together. They're going to probably have to piece it together, like week by week kind of thing. Just people's schedules. It's a lot of people, but I'm excited about it. I think we'll probably be doing it. We'll have to figure it out. It's all brand new. It all just happened... They just made an announcement."
The announcement, which arrived with confirmation that the Russo Brothers would be directing the Phase 6 team-up movie, was as much of a surprise to Renner as it was to any of us, as he revealed that, despite being friends, Downey Jr. left him in the dark on the casting bombshell until it came out at San Diego Comic-Con.
"I had no idea. This son of a b***h didn't say anything to me, and we're good friends," Renner declared in disbelief. "We have an Avenger family chat, right – the original six – and he said not a peep, so I got online and I started blowing up his phone, like, 'What's going on? You hiding this from us all along?'… It's exciting news man."
Renner previously vowed to be "strong enough" to return as Hawkeye in the MCU if or when the time comes, though he wasn't confident he had the energy to take on "challenging roles" following last year's near-fatal snowplow accident, which left him with over 30 broken bones, as well as blunt chest trauma and orthopedic injuries.
The actor made his first appearance as Hawkeye in 2011's Thor and was one of the stars of the first Avengers film. In 2022, he starred in Disney+'s Hawkeye series alongside Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop. Only time will tell if he will return to the franchise again, but for now, at least, fans have the rest of Phase 5 to focus on.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.
