Jeremy Renner Opens Up About “Hawkeye” Season 2 and Disappointing Pay Dispute

Jeremy Renner is breaking his silence on why a second season of Hawkeye hasn’t moved forward, and according to the actor, it all comes down to a salary dispute. In a candid new interview with the High Performance podcast, Renner revealed that he was approached to reprise his role as Clint Barton for Season 2 of the Disney+ series, but was offered just half of what he earned for the first season. “They asked me to do Season 2, and they offered me half the money,” Renner said. “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.” He went on to suggest that the offer may have been influenced by his recovery from his devastating 2023 snowplow accident.

Renner nearly lost his life on January 1, 2023, when a 14,330-pound Sno-Cat ran him over as he tried to assist his nephew in the snow near his Lake Tahoe home. The actor sustained more than 30 broken bones, including shattered ribs, a broken knee and ankles, and significant trauma to his chest and upper body. “Did you think I’m only half the Jeremy because I got ran over?” he said, expressing frustration at the perceived lack of respect. “I told them to go fly a kite… just at the insult offer.” According to Renner, the lowball offer didn’t come from Marvel Studios directly, but rather from Disney’s accounting side, which he criticized for being overly focused on cutting costs.

Despite the setback, Renner hasn’t completely shut the door on playing Hawkeye again in the future. “I still love the character. I’d still love to do it,” he said, emphasizing that he wasn’t asking for a raise — just the same compensation he received for Season 1. While he admitted the situation was disheartening, Renner also acknowledged that his recovery remains a top priority. “My body’s probably thanking me… that I’m not doing it right now,” he said. “But we’ll see.”