The Marvel Cinematic Universe may now have a firm footing in the TV landscape, but it’s rare for a series to get renewed for a second season. Of the 11 Marvel live-action series released on Disney+ so far, only one — Loki — has successfully reached another season. It doesn’t mean all the shows are standalone, as Agatha All Along is a spiritual successor to WandaVision and Daredevil: Born Again was just a reboot of the original Netflix Daredevil series, but it is a peculiar situation considering these shows’ popularity.
However, one of these one-season wonders almost made it to renewal, but a salary dispute kept its titular star from signing on.
In a conversation with the podcast High Performance, Jeremy Renner revealed that a Season 2 of Hawkeye was planned but didn’t materialize. The Avengers star led his own spotlight series during the holiday season of 2021, following Clint Barton as he picks up a protégé after the events of Avengers: Endgame. The series was hugely important to the MCU, introducing Echo, Kingpin, Jack Duquesne, and Kate Bishop to the cinematic universe, but no renewal ever came.
In 2023, hopes of a Season 2 were dimmed when Renner was in a tragic snowplow accident that took months to recover from, and, apparently, lowered his market value. “They asked me to do Season 2, and they offered me half the money,” Renner said. “Did you think I’m only half the Jeremy because I got ran over?’ Is that why you want to pay me half of what I made on the first season?”
This is a shocking move for Marvel because, traditionally, a season renewal means an increase in salary for the lead. Offering half is, honestly, an insult to the show’s star, especially after Hawkeye launched so many of the MCU’s most popular TV projects. It truly was the first “street-level” Disney+ MCU show, showing a new, grittier side to the franchise.
If Marvel isn’t able to pay Renner his worth, this also casts doubt on him returning for the upcoming Avengers movies. Clint Barton is, at this point, one of only a few remaining characters from the original Avengers. If that’s not worth Renner’s full salary, then what is?
