Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt is the main star of the Mission: Impossible movie series, but there are a few players who have assisted him across several of these missions. Jeremy Renner's William Brandt is one of those folks, having appeared in 2011's Ghost Protocol and 2015's Rogue Nation. With Mission: Impossible 6 gearing up for production next year, there hasn't been any official information about Renner returning. While nothing is official yet, the actor did imply that his involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe could make it harder for him to return for the spy franchise's next outing.
While speaking with Collider, Jeremy Renner mentioned he will be spending a lot of 2017 reprising Clint Barton, a.k.a. Hawkeye, in the back-to-back shoots for 2018's Avengers: Infinity War and 2019's Avengers 4, which could cause scheduling complications for Mission: Impossible 6. He explained:
MI6, I'm not sure what's happening. I think it's going to be coming down to...I know that they're really wanting to get it going, and I haven't spoken to Tom yet about where it's at. I know there might be some conflict with schedules, so I'm not sure what's going to happen. Avengers is gonna eat up a lot of next year. Gladly, but I certainly hope it doesn't ultimately get in the way of Tom and I and the gang getting back together for that, because I'd love to.
Clearly Jeremy Renner wants to jump back into action for Mission: Impossible 6, but with the lack of communication from that franchise's creative minds, along with his archer duties in the MCU, it may be harder to make that happen. This isn't the first time the actor has wondered about whether he's returning. Back in March, Renner asked director Christopher McQuarrie on Twitter if he should "start stretching" for the next movie, to which McQuarrie responded "Wear comfortable pants. You're gonna need 'em." That's clearly not a conclusive answer, but it was still a fun exchange.
Right now, only two actors have been confirmed for Mission: Impossible 6. Tom Cruise will obviously play Ethan Hunt again, and Rebecca Ferguson will return as Ilsa Faust, who debuted in Rogue Nation. There also hasn't been any word about whether Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg will reprise Luther Stickell and Benji Dunn, respectively. Ethan Hunt hasn't had many recurring allies in these movies, but considering how the recent Mission: Impossible installments seem to have built a more "regular" cast of characters, it would be cool if as many familiar faces could be brought back as possible.
Mission: Impossible 6 is scheduled to hit theaters on July 27, 2018. As for Jeremy Renner, you can currently see him starring alongside Amy Adams in Arrival.
