Will Jeremy Renner Play Hawkeye?

Way back at the end of 2008, there were reports that "Iron Man 2" would introduce two characters from the comics to the Marvel film universe: Black Widow and Hawkeye.

We now know that half of that is true in Scarlett Johansson playing Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow. As for Hawkeye, we’ve heard absolutely nothing on that character and no actor was signed to play the role… at least that we know of.

In an interview in the latest issue of Empire Magazine, actor Jeremy Renner ("The Hurt Locker," "S.W.A.T.," "28 Weeks Later") reveals that he was in consideration for the role of Captain America. But when he went into to meet with the folks at Marvel Studios, they instead talked about the actor possibly playing Hawkeye, the purple Archer, instead.

“I don’t know if I’d be right for Captain America. I met with the Marvel guys, actually, but we didn’t talk about Captain America. But one of the writers, Zak Penn, we’ve become friends over time and he was thinking maybe Hawkeye could be interesting. He sounds like an interesting character.”

Zak Penn is the screenwriter in charge of bringing all of the major players together in one of the most ambitious film projects ever, in writing "The Avengers."

“If I was a betting man," Renner hinted, "I would bet that Hawkeye would probably show up in 'Thor,' and then be in 'The Avengers'… But do I know for sure? I can’t say. But I’d love for that to happen. It’d be fun.”
But Renner added: "No offer has been made. I think they're a little ways from that.

"I'm just happy to get considered for big franchise roles like that. I'm not [doing the] casting. If they see me that way, right on. If they don't, I'm ok with it."

If he is to be introduced, it doesn’t make sense for him to be a part of "Thor" instead of "Iron Man 2" since his comic book origins have him crossing paths with Iron Man and Black Widow. Hawkeye, whose real name is Clint Barton, is an archer who ran away to become a carnival performer as a kid. He later sees Iron Man in action and is inspired to become a "costumed hero." He then falls in love with Black Widow and they're initially mistaken for villains.

Would you like to see Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye?
More news to come! Catch ya' later!
Sources: Screen Rant, First Showing