Ant-Man and The Wasp director denies Jeremy Renner reports

Marvel fans have been getting very excited over reports that Jeremy Renner was set to reprise his role as Hawkeye in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ – but we might want to hold our horses (and/or arrows).

Peyton Reed, director of 2015’s ‘Ant-Man’ who will return for the upcoming sequel, has flat-out denied these reports on Twitter.

Reed’s Trumpian witticisms notwithstanding, this has proved fairly disheartening for devotees of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many of whom have left replies to Reed’s tweet requesting that Renner be cast in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ anyway.

Despite being an Avenger, Renner’s Hawkeye remains one of the most underutilised members of the MCU. After a brief introduction in 2011’s ‘Thor,’ Renner was properly introduced (albeit as a brainwashed bad guy for the first two acts) in 2012’s ‘Avengers Assemble,’ before finally getting a meatier role in 2015’s ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron.’

Hawkeye last appeared in 2016’s ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ making it only 4 MCU appearances thus far. (Still, better than Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk/Bruce Banner, who only has 3 to date if we include his tiny post-credits cameo in ‘Iron Man 3’).

Despite cameos from Hayley Atwell’s Peggy Carter and Anthony Mackie’s Falcon, ‘Ant-Man’ largely stood apart from the rest of the MCU, introducing Paul Rudd as thief-turned-superhero Scott Lang, Michael Douglas as his scientist mentor and original Ant-Man Hank Pym, and Evangeline Lilly as Pym’s daughter Hope van Dyne, who will adopt the mantle of The Wasp in the second film.

Still, even if Hawkeye isn’t set to appear in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp,’ it seems fair to assume some other MCU players may come into the equation, given that ‘Captain America: Civil War’ well and truly made Ant-Man one of the gang.

Of course, if Renner isn’t appearing in ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp,’ this begs the question as to why it was that Renner pulled out of the upcoming ‘Mission: Impossible 6,’ given first reports claimed he dropped one movie in favour of the other. Is it possible Marvel Studios have something else in store for Hawkeye? Or has he been kept busy enough by the in-production ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and its as-yet untitled sequel, shooting back to back?

Whilst we wait and see what’s next for Hawkeye, the MCU rolls on with ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,’ opening 28 April. ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp,’ meanwhile, is due 28 June 2018.

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