RUMOR: Marvel Had A Surprising Reason For Making Jeremy Renner A Low-ball HAWKEYE Season 2 Offer

RUMOR: Marvel Had A Surprising Reason For Making Jeremy Renner A Low-ball HAWKEYE Season 2 Offer

According to two new reports, Disney and Marvel Studios had a calculated reason for making a low-ball offer to Jeremy Renner for Hawkeye season 2, leaving the character's fate up in the air, as a result.

By JoshWilding - May 07, 2025 06:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Hawkeye

Hawkeye took place over Christmas and proved an effective debut for Hailee Steinfeld's Kate Bishop. The series also showcased Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton; the actor had been taking on supporting roles in the MCU since 2011, but soon made it clear that Hawkeye was deserving of the spotlight. 

The actor recently revealed that when Marvel Studios approached him about season 2, he was offered only half of what he was paid for that first batch of episodes. 

Renner understandably declined to reprise the role in that instance, and we've since heard that a new Hawkeye series will likely revolve around Kate. Previously, it was reported that season 2 would be set in one location similar to The Raid, pitting the Hawkeyes against Clint's brother, Barney Barton/Trickshot.

According to both The InSneider's Jeff Sneider and Puck's Matt Belloni, Disney and Marvel Studios deliberately made Renner a low-ball offer for Hawkeye season 2. According to the former, they were aware that he'd reject being paid half as much money, giving them a reason not to "have to make a second season of the show."

In his piece, Belloni added, "Nobody tell Renner the show attracted middling viewership and costs would have come down across the board for a Season 2—that is, if execs weren’t lowballing him in the first place so they could pin the cancellation on him, not them."

While it does sound like they're theorising to some extent, if Renner had something in his contract that guaranteed a second season, then that could explain why the studio settled on this tactic. It's now unclear what the future holds in store for Hawkeye, as neither Renner nor Steinfeld were announced as being part of the Avengers: Doomsday cast.

Here's a reminder of what Renner said about his Hawkeye season 2 discussions with Marvel:

"They asked me to do Season 2, and they offered me half the money. 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.'"

"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. 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."

Marvel Studios is believed to be moving away from bringing movie characters to streaming, instead deciding to create more distance between its film and TV offerings to avoid making the MCU feel like "homework." 

That might explain why Daredevil: Born Again felt largely standalone. In comparison, WandaVision was essential viewing to understand Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with The Falcon and The Winter Soldier a must-watch prequel to get the most out of Captain America: Brave New World.

Kevin Feige is spearheading some big changes at Marvel Studios, but here's hoping Renner and Steinfeld both get to suit up soon. 

Hawkeye season 1 is currently streaming on Disney+. 

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RUMOR: HAWKEYE Season 2 Is Still Happening Without Jeremy Renner; Hailee Steinfeld Will Be The Show's Lead

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Orphix
Orphix - 5/7/2025, 6:10 AM
I know I am in the minority - and it seems like sacrilege to say it - but I think the Hawkeye TV Show was my favourite out of the Disney+ TV stuff.
Chasekeane
Chasekeane - 5/7/2025, 6:12 AM
@Orphix - I enjoyed it too! Stuff set at Christmas time is always a bonus for me too lol.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/7/2025, 6:12 AM
@Orphix - I don’t think you are in the minority as much as you think since I hear a lot of praise for the Hawkeye show.

It’s not my favorite but I did like it.
Orphix
Orphix - 5/7/2025, 6:27 AM
@TheVisionary25 - Good to know I'm not alone! :)

There are other shows I enjoyed (or liked bits of) but, for me, Hawkeye just seems to be the best all round show.
AC1
AC1 - 5/7/2025, 7:14 AM
@Orphix - Not sacrilegious at all, personally it's not my absolute favourite but it's genuinely such a great show!
Gabimaru
Gabimaru - 5/7/2025, 7:22 AM
@Orphix - loki season 1 is number 1 for me but i agree on hawkeye too it's almost home alone john hugh type series to me and i have a soft spot for christmas themed movie/series and hailee is eye candy 😍
Skestra
Skestra - 5/7/2025, 7:30 AM
@Orphix - It's one of the top tier of Disney Plus shows.
thedrudo
thedrudo - 5/7/2025, 7:35 AM
@Orphix - Same here! I love the Christmas setting and watch that one every holiday.

I’d still say Loki is my favorite overall but Hawkeye is a close second.

Not even sure if I’d put anything at number three tbh.
TheNewYorker
TheNewYorker - 5/7/2025, 7:42 AM
@Orphix - I enjoyed it too.
JustAWaffle
JustAWaffle - 5/7/2025, 8:04 AM
@Orphix - I really liked it too. It's a regular Christmas show we'll play either intentionally or in the background.
tluciotti74
tluciotti74 - 5/7/2025, 8:09 AM
@Orphix - I can not say that I go that far but I did enjoy the show a great deal myself and would prefer a Season 2 of it, as opposed to some of the other rumored stuff
Wahhvacado
Wahhvacado - 5/7/2025, 8:09 AM
@Orphix - Agreed! It is a lot of fun
AgentofSH1ELD
AgentofSH1ELD - 5/7/2025, 8:13 AM
@Orphix - It was very good. Im a big Renner fan in the Hawkeye spot. He should be allowed and offered to play that character until he dies. Never have a different Hawkeye. 20 years from now there should still only be 1 Hawkeye, played by Renner. It is even this way in the comics. He is one of the few characters that is always around at the right moment.
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 5/7/2025, 8:18 AM
@Orphix - nope, not at all. its one of the better series, not the best, imo, but i did like it alot
Super12
Super12 - 5/7/2025, 9:20 AM
@Orphix - Wandavision, Hawkeye, Moon Knight, and Loki s1 are top tier Disney+ MCU in my opinion.
BlackBolt84
BlackBolt84 - 5/7/2025, 9:21 AM
@Orphix - It's in my top 2 of D+ MCU series. Honestly, most of them are pretty awful. Yes, that includes Wandavision and Loki
Goldboink
Goldboink - 5/7/2025, 10:03 AM
@Orphix -
I liked it a lot. It held together nicely, had multiple good subplots and the characters were top notch.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 5/7/2025, 12:43 PM
@Orphix - PLEASE, you, and EVERYONE, if you haven't already, embrace, love and worship the One True Only God YHWH Jehovah, Only One Jesus Christ His Only Begotten Son and Lord and Savior of our souls and the Only One Holy Spirit. God is good. God is love. Jesus is Lord! Jesus IS coming. Your soul depends on it!

I have seen God act in my life. He saved my soul, changed my heart, changed my mind, helped people through me, took care of people in my life, people I hurt before I found God. God is the only reason I was able to reconcile with my dad before he died.

God worked through Jesus Christ to save our souls. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and that God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved. Be baptized in The Holy Spirit, and if He wills, water as well. Repent of your sins, accept God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit into your heart, that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son Jesus Christ, that all who believe on Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Jesus Christ is The Way, The Truth and The Life. No one comes to the Father Jehovah God but through Him.

Not long after I got saved I prayed to God for help understanding the Holy Bible, and that same day someone knocked on my door asking me if I wanted to understand the Bible. I have had times where I was thinking about Holy Bible quotes and have stumbled across them flipping through The Holy Bible at random the same/next day and prayed to God for His joy to grant me comfort in hard times and felt it blessed upon me, and God's blessings of peace that have taken away a lot of my anger. God is here for you if you let Him guide you.

The Holy Bible says, "love thy enemy", "turn the other cheek", "If your enemy is hungry, feed him", "if he is thirsty, give him a drink", "pray for those who persecute you", "do not repay evil for evil".

LORD willing, all humans may commit sin of almost every kind (gay, straight), and that's wrong, and all humans sin, as God tells us through the The Holy Bible, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." The Holy Bible also says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.", "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." and, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
MrDandy
MrDandy - 5/7/2025, 2:39 PM
@Orphix - I didn’t think it was bad, but again felt it felt like a bloated movie broken into 6 parts. I think someday some fans will exit it down into a good 2.5 hour movie.
bcom
bcom - 5/7/2025, 5:19 PM
@Orphix - I really enjoyed it.
tRuckRogers46A
tRuckRogers46A - 5/7/2025, 6:12 AM
I liked the Hawkeye show. Yelena and Kate's banter was top notch.
TheNewYorker
TheNewYorker - 5/7/2025, 7:45 AM
@tRuckRogers46A - I concur.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 5/7/2025, 12:14 PM
@tRuckRogers46A - One of the strongest, writing construction wise to me, things they've done, though I think the ending was messy, but not annoying messy to me.
tRuckRogers46A
tRuckRogers46A - 5/7/2025, 6:16 AM
1. Wandavision
2. Loki
3. FaTWS
4. Hawkeye
5. Agatha
6. Ms Marvel
7. Daredevil s1
8. Echo
9. What if?
10. She Hulk
11. Secret Invasion

(Not including special presentations)
MikeyL
MikeyL - 5/7/2025, 7:00 AM
@tRuckRogers46A - I think mine would be:

WandaVision
Agatha All Along
Ms Marvel
Daredevil
Hawkeye
Loki (I just didn’t love season 2)
She Hulk
FaTWS
What If…? (Started okay, got worse as it went on)
Echo
Secret Invasion
tluciotti74
tluciotti74 - 5/7/2025, 8:10 AM
@tRuckRogers46A - I like your top 4 but my 1 and 2 are swapped! I put DD at 5 and shift everything else down but solid list!
DarthOmega
DarthOmega - 5/7/2025, 6:37 AM
Hawkeye was one of the better D+ shows. Unfortunately that's not saying much.

I'm not too familiar with Kate Bishop in the comics so I have no idea if Hailee played her right, but I liked her in the role. That kid has lots of charm. I enjoyed the scenes with her and Yelena.

Truthfully I would've rathered a show that dealt with Clint the whole time.

?si=7ilfRQ19EcgzDpHU

I think a guy with no super powers armed with only a bow and arrow fighting and fighting alongside super powered beings, Norse gods, aliens etc. is probably one of the most interesting characters to study. The only other person who could relate to him gave her life to save the world.

I'm sure they couldn't afford Scarlett, but it would've been cool to see flashbacks of her and Clint in Budapest.
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 5/7/2025, 6:39 AM
It was a good show with a bad ending imo. Kate and Yelena were great, bad they butchered Kingpin's character in this one.
DarthOmega
DarthOmega - 5/7/2025, 6:43 AM
@Urubrodi - They haven't gotten him right since Netflix.
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 5/7/2025, 6:46 AM
@DarthOmega - Well I liked what they did with him in Born Again for the most part. It's clearly a continuation of that.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 5/7/2025, 12:12 PM
@Urubrodi - I don't think they butchered his character really. But I do think the ending was messy. Adored Yelena and Kate though. I've described it as, "A stronger version of what the Kenobi show was doing."
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 5/7/2025, 6:41 AM
That’s a rather shady & shitty thing to do but it is Hollywood so I wouldn’t be surprised if this is true…

However self sabotaging like that doesn’t make sense since on the off chance he had accepted the offer then what would they have done?.

Also if the rumors of it being set in a single location and taking inspiration from the likes of The Raid are true then that makes sense since it was likely also a cost cutting measure.

Anyway I do hope S2 does happen with both Renner’s Clint & Steinfeld’s Kate but if not then oh well…

Clint’s story ended well in the show and now you could focus on Kate in other projects such as Champions etc.
OrgasmicPotatoe
OrgasmicPotatoe - 5/7/2025, 6:49 AM
That's gotta be one of the shittiest thing they could do to one of their OG cast member. They can't stand being the ones responsible for their own show's cancellation, they have to low-ball Renner in order to pin the second season not happening on him rather than take responsibility.
MakeAmericaGrea
MakeAmericaGrea - 5/7/2025, 10:14 AM
@OrgasmicPotatoe -

Yeah, Iger and Feige should do shame walks for this and many other things.
FrankenDad
FrankenDad - 5/7/2025, 6:49 AM
But now they ARE making a season 2 without him. So bump that.

I get the show was going to be moving in a certain direction with Kate, or at least continuing to share the spotlight, but goddamn, Renner’s been on board from almost the start and he’s a fan favorite. I hope they get some brighter accountants and bring him back into the fold. Otherwise, good on him and I hope he finds some projects that work for him moving forward.
FordMaximus
FordMaximus - 5/7/2025, 7:14 AM
@FrankenDad - I'm guessing Renner had an option for a second season. By lowballing him and forcing him to reject the option it basically gets them out of their contract and any other financial commitments they had from the first season. They will give the new Hawkeye series a subtitle meaning everyone will need new contacts. This happens all the time in TV, perhaps more than you realise. Any time a series has a change of name or reshuffle of the cast its probably due to reducing costs and avoiding any previous contracts or commitments.
dagenspear
dagenspear - 5/7/2025, 12:10 PM
@FrankenDad - Where was this confirmed.
FrankenDad
FrankenDad - 5/7/2025, 12:23 PM
@dagenspear - Where was what confirmed? Season 2 moving ahead with Kate and not Clint? I’ve seen it multiple places, but it was on CBM first(for me).
DarthMauve
DarthMauve - 5/7/2025, 6:59 AM
Josh blaming Marvel all through this article, meanwhile in the very quote posted...

"This is not Marvel, mind you. This is like, just Disney, not even really Disney. It’s just the penny pinchers, the accountants".

Journalism at it's finest.
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