There has been a lot of evidence pointing towards Jeremy Renner's Hawkeye being heavily featured in Joe and Anthony Russo's upcoming Captain America 3. Renner himself has hinted at the idea a couple of times in interviews, and the directors have gone public lamenting the fact that they couldn't properly squeeze him into Captain America: The Winter Soldier. But before fans start getting ahead of themselves and dreaming of the hero's possible role, they might want to slow down just a bit. Despite what internet reports have said, it looks like Hawkeye may not actually be locked in for Captain America 3 yet - and if he is, nobody has actually bothered to tell Jeremy Renner about it yet.
The actor addressed the rumors during a recent interview with The Daily Beast, and while he did confirm that he has seen all of the reports, he also claims that he has not actually spoken to anybody at Marvel Studios about the project yet. Said the Academy Award-nominee,
"I don’t know what’s going to happen. I know it’s going to start shooting in March. I haven’t had any official conversations about doing it or not."
While some may see this as evidence suggesting that Hawkeye actually won't be in Captain America 3, I have another theory on the situation. As mentioned, Renner has spoken about possibly being in Captain America 3 a lot recently, but that's because he has been doing a lot of interviews while promoting his new drama Kill The Messenger. Knowing this, I wouldn't at all be surprised if Marvel Studios is waiting until after the press tour to talk with Renner about his involvement in the sequel. After all, the actor can't divulge information that he doesn't actually know. It's a lesson that Captain America: The Winter Soldier taught us earlier this year: compartmentalization of information is key when trying to maintain secrets.
Let's also not forget that Renner probably won't need a ton of prep time to get ready for a possible role in Captain America 3. He has a multiple-picture deal, and it's not like he's going to have to train in the gym for the next six months to get physically prepared. He just spent the entire summer playing Hawkeye in Joss Whedon's The Avengers: Age of Ultron, and now he's in production on Mission: Impossible 5 - yet another action-heavy part.
All of the pieces are still coming together for Captain America 3, which is being written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (the scribes behind the first two movies) and is scheduled to be in theaters on May 6, 2016. Chris Evans will once again be back as Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America, and joining him will be Sebastian Stan once again playing Bucky Barnes a.k.a. The Winter Soldier - but the rest of the cast remains a mystery at this stage. Stay tuned for more updates, however, as we'll be surely be getting a ton of them between now and next March.
