More than any other recent Disney+ Marvel show, Hawkeye appeared to be headed for a second season. It starred one of the original Avengers, played by Jeremy Renner; introduced a new, younger version of the hero, Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop; and told a story with characters who have subsequently returned in other locations, such as Kingpin (Vincent D’Onofrio), Yelena (Florence Pugh), Echo (Alaqua Cox), and more.
According to Renner, he was invited to undertake a second season but was only offered half of what he earned in the first season, so he declined. “They asked me to do a season two, and they offered me half the money,” Renner said on the High Performance podcast. “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.’”
“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,’” he said, referring to his 2023 accident in which he was driven over by a Sno-Cat and had near-fatal injuries.
Renner soon clarified that accountants at Disney, not Marvel, did this. “This is not Marvel, mind you,” Renner said. “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.”
This doesn’t seem to add up. Disney is Marvel, and accountants who work for Disney represent Marvel. The subtext, however, appears to be that Renner does not want to blame Marvel’s creative team, but rather those who sign their checks.
Renner’s reluctance to assign blame, particularly to anyone is likely due to his desire to play Hawkeye in the future. “Sadly, I still love the character. I’d still love to do it, but I had to defend myself,” he said. “I didn’t ask for any more money, mind you. Just pay me what I made the first season. So it’s a little 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.”
Watch the clip below:
@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 – The High Performance Podcast
So, there you have it. As of today, it appears that Hawkeye season two is not in the works. That’s a shame. We would have liked to see Renner continue to mentor Kate Bishop as she progressed through the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But perhaps everything will come together in the future.
Would you watch a second season of Hawkeye? Let us know in the comments below!