Gotta say, we’re down with Jeremy Renner on this one. If hardcore Marvel zombies had their druthers, every character the company has published in comic books since 1939 would have their own solo film. Hell, fans have been calling for a Loki solo movie. But not every character in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe needs a movie; in fact, the reason the Hulk worked so well in “The Avengers” is that his character left you wanting more. There’s a reason two solo Hulk movies haven’t fully worked thus far. Some characters are better utilized as team players who can shine in their few moments on screen and don’t really need a dedicated movie.
Renner’s got the right idea about his Marvel character Hawkeye. “I’m happy to be in the ensemble. I’m not scratching or clawing to do a solo movie by any means,” he told MTV recently. “I think he’s a utility guy that can bounce around into other people’s universes a little bit, especially like ‘Cap 3’.” Renner winked after the “Captain America” mention: It’s no secret that Renner’s hoping Hawkeye will appear in “Captain America 3,” since he’s already heard vague talk from Marvel that they’re considering that his character should be in that movie.
This would make sense. Marvel chief Kevin Feige already said that Hawkeye was considered for ‘The Winter Soldier’ and was even in early drafts of the screenplay, but because Falcon and Black Widow were already supporting characters, the movie had no more room for major characters. Fans don’t really want to hear this, but it’s the right call from Marvel. Their movies have the potential to be overstuffed with characters —“The Avengers” was and yet miraculously pulled it off— and knowing when to say "enough’s enough" is important. So is recognizing when a given superhero should be the star of the show, or when another is best employed as colorful support.
Renner even discussed his mildly disparaging remarks about Hawkeye in “The Avengers” when he said back in 2012 “I’m not the character I signed on to play.” Renner elaborated on what he meant, while not backtracking or apologizing for the comments either.
“What Joss [Whedon], Feige, [Mark] Ruffalo, [Robert] Downey Jr. and I discussed early on was where Joss wanted to go with the script. Ultimately, Joss realized that he was trying to do the impossible by working on ‘The Avengers’, and the only way he pulled it off, with me having any sizable part in the movie, was by me being the bad-guy essentially, and not Hawkeye,” he explained, before he reiterated, “It’s not what we talked about, or what got me excited about doing the movie. But that’s fine. I trusted him”
By all accounts, Whedon will do right by Hawkeye in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” We’ll find out May, 2015. But in the meantime, don’t look for Marvel to rush out Black Widow and Hulk films or solo Quicksilver or Scarlett Witch movies. “Ant-Man” and “Dr. Strange” aside, the studio’s M.O. is to introduce characters in other films and then take a wait and see approach. Don’t be surprised if they adopt the ‘Winter Solider’ model for a lot of movies going forward: pick one superstar character and then surround him/her with one or two supporting characters.