Jeremy Renner isn't in Avengers: Doomsday and already knows who to blame when the Avengers lose
The last time Hawkeye sat out an Avengers film, Thanos wiped out half the universe. Doomsday makes it twice, and Clint Barton's actor already has his forecast.
Jeremy Renner has confirmed he is not in Avengers: Doomsday, the fifth Avengers film, out on 18 December. Asked in a recent interview whether Clint Barton comes back, he skipped the usual Marvel routine of "I can neither confirm nor deny" and went straight to the verdict, as Variety reported.
Most actors who miss the call sheet say they are busy or hoping for next time. Renner predicted the result and assigned the blame:
"No, no, no, no. Not in that one. Doomsday I'm not in, so the Avengers will probably lose, just so you know… they didn't call me, so it's their fault. They're going to lose."
— Jeremy Renner, as quoted by Variety
It is a joke, delivered with a grin. It is also the neatest alibi in the franchise: if the film disappoints, the man with the bow and arrow was nowhere near it, and he said so two months early.
The last time Hawkeye sat one out
The joke has a track record. Renner was left out of Avengers: Infinity War in 2018, when Clint was under house arrest after Captain America: Civil War. Without him, Thanos collected all six stones and wiped out half the universe. Hawkeye came back for Avengers: Endgame in 2019, and the Avengers won. Correlation, not causation. Still, Renner is one for one.
He is also one of the original six from The Avengers in 2012, and that line-up is thinning out fast:
- Iron Man: Robert Downey Jr is back, but as Doctor Doom, the villain.
- Captain America: Chris Evans returns as Steve Rogers, confirmed by the December 2025 teaser.
- Thor: Chris Hemsworth was named in Marvel's cast announcement in March 2025.
- Hulk: Mark Ruffalo was not on that list.
- Black Widow: Natasha died in Endgame, and Scarlett Johansson was not announced either.
- Hawkeye: not called, by his own account.
So the man who used to be the founding team's punchline about having no superpowers now has no booking either.
The pay row behind the punchline
"They didn't call me" lands harder because of history. Renner told the High Performance podcast that Disney offered him half his first-series fee to return for a second series of Hawkeye, roughly double the work for half the money. He blamed "the penny pinchers, the accountants" rather than Marvel itself, called the offer an insult and turned it down. A Disney insider disputed his account.
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Not that he has gone off the character. In 2025 he told Empire he was sure they would "end up doing Season 2" and that his body was getting ready for it: "I don't know if anybody wants to see me in tights, but my body will look good in the tights." He also said he had recovered "more than 150%" from his January 2023 accident, when his own Sno-Cat ran him over and broke eight ribs in 14 places.
If Doomsday flops, Renner has the alibi. If it wins, he can say they got lucky.
The only Avengers film in cinemas with Hawkeye in it right now is the old one. Marvel brought Endgame back on 25 September as Avengers: Endgame Encore, 185 minutes with new footage tying it to Doomsday, and Renner said he was excited about the re-release. Cheeky positioning: cheer the film he helped win, sit out the one he has already lost.
Doomsday arrives on 18 December, with Avengers: Secret Wars following on 17 December 2027. Renner said "not in that one", which leaves the door to the next one ajar. If the Avengers lose this time, nobody can say Clint Barton missed the call. He never got one.
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