jeremy renner

Let me get this out of the way first: I am a huge Hawkeye fan. When I was a pre-teen I'd pick up Solo Avengers (the Hawkeye solo title) and West Coast Avengers (the team where Hawkeye was the leader) every month while my friends were buying Wolverine or Uncanny X-Men. He may just be a guy that shoots arrows, but there's something about his personality that just clicks with me. He's the Han Solo-type--a rogue and a scoundrel--but with the quick tongue of Spider-Man.

Forgive me then if I geek out a little more than usual at the news (from Empire Online) that Jeremy Renner is talking like it's all but official that he'll be playing Clint Barton aka Hawkeye in Marvel's upcoming Avengers-related films. Renner tells Empire, "If I was a betting man, I would bet that Hawkeye would probably show up in Thor, and then be in The Avengers, but do I know for sure? I can't say. But I'd love for that to happen. It'd be fun." He admits he was considered for the role of Captain America, but Marvel screenwriter Zak Penn would like to work Renner into the stories as Hawkeye instead.

Thor's cast is already stuffed with characters, so I don't know how they'd fit in just one more hero (or villain...Hawkeye started as a bad guy, then changed his ways). Can we expect a cameo from Renner in Iron Man 2 in much the same manner as Downey Jr. showing up as Tony Stark at the end of Incredible Hulk?

Comic book casting rumors seem to happen on a daily basis lately , and, obviously, nothing is set in stone, but I think Renner's an inspired choice. I'm pretty excited. What do you guys think?

By: Elisabeth Rappe

It's a quiet day (so far) on the Interwebs, which has led to everyone noticing and buzzing about a great little rumor that Ain't It Cool News discovered thanks to The Modesto Bee. The Bee caught up with up and comer Jeremy Renner (currently turning heads in the much buzzed about The Hurt Locker), and he revealed that he was trying to get behind the wheel of a famous black Interceptor. "I'm also fighting to do the new Mad Max film with George Miller. That might be next summer. I'm screen-testing and meeting George Miller."

A screen test is a long way from a casting announcement (just think about who all screen tested for The Green Lantern), but it's the first news to come out of the long delayed Max Max reboot / remake project in some time. Obviously, Renner is being vague enough that he might not even be referring to trying out for the part of Mr. Rockatansky, but come on. If you name drop Mad Max, you're trying out for Max, which suggests this will be a straight up remake.