Jeremy Renner Claims Marvel Attempted to Slash His Hawkeye Salary by 50%
Jeremy Renner has accused Marvel Studios of making an unreasonably low offer to renew his Disney+ series Hawkeye for a second season.
“They asked me to do season 2 and offered me half the money,” he stated during the Thursday, May 1, episode of the “High Performance” podcast. “I’m like, ‘Wow, it’s going to take me twice the effort for half the pay.’”
At 54, Renner acknowledged that his physical capabilities to film an action-intensive series like Hawkeye are hindered due to life-altering injuries he sustained after being crushed by a 14,000-pound snowplow in January 2023. The Avengers actor mentioned in his memoir My Next Breath that over 30 bones in his body were fractured in that incident.
Given his injuries, Renner expressed he simply couldn’t accept such a significant pay cut from Marvel Studios.
“I’m sorry, why? Do you think I’m only ‘half the Jeremy’ because I got run over? Perhaps that’s why you’re offering me half of what I earned in the first season?” he expressed in his latest interview.
Renner clarified that he doesn’t blame Marvel or Disney overall for the low offer, instead pointing fingers at the “penny pinchers” responsible for financial decisions.
“I told them to go fly a kite. I mean, that offer was just insulting,” he remarked. “We didn’t see eye to eye on it, unfortunately.”
The actor emphasized that he still “loves the character” of Hawkeye and “would still love” to bring his Disney+ show back in some form, but he couldn’t accept Marvel’s proposal.
“I had to stand up for myself,” he said. “I didn’t ask for any extra money, mind you. Just pay me what I earned the first season. It’s somewhat disheartening that didn’t happen. But that’s fine. I’m glad to move on because my body’s probably thanking me time and again for that choice.”
Marvel’s inability to reach an agreement with Renner is particularly surprising since he has been a vital part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe since its inception. Renner made his debut as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clint Barton (a.k.a. Hawkeye) in 2011’s Thor and has appeared in all four previous Avengers films. The first season of the Disney+ series premiered in late 2021, showcasing Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop assuming the role of Hawkeye.
Unsurprisingly, Renner’s name was absent when Marvel announced the cast for the upcoming movie Avengers: Doomsday, which will include Chris Hemsworth, Paul Rudd, Tom Hiddleston, and Robert Downey Jr., along with many other returning MCU stars.
Regarding Renner’s health, he illuminated the aftermath of his severe snowplow accident in his memoir. He shared a detailed account of how near he came to death while awaiting rescue.
“As I lay on the ice, my heart rate slowed, and right there, on that New Year’s Day, unbeknownst to my daughter, my sisters, my friends, my father, and my mother, I simply got tired,” Renner wrote in My Next Breath. “After about 30 minutes on the ice, manually breathing for that long, an effort comparable to performing 10 or 20 push-ups per minute for half an hour … that’s when I died.”
Fortunately, Renner was rescued before another tragedy could unfold. He later recounted being administered “a mix of opioids for pain and benzodiazepines for sleep,” though he eventually had to be “handcuffed” to his hospital bed due to anxiety about being discharged.
