Confirmed: Jeremy Renner is Hawkeye in Avengers

It’s been rumored since last November and now we finally have confirmation: Jeremy Renner will star as Hawkeye in Marvel Studios’ THE AVENGERS. Word that Renner was in the running to play the marksman began to leak while the actor was making the rounds promoting THE HURT LOCKER for the various pre-Oscar awards (he’d later get nominated as Best Actor for his performance). So what took so long?

For one, Renner was considering two other big projects. He was heavily courted by Universal to star in Peter Berg’s BATTLESHIP, a role he eventually turned down. He was also seriously considering a starring role opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman in Paul Thomas Anderson’s untitled it’s-not-about-Scientology movie. As PTA’s movie continued to see delays, Renner’s schedule freed up enough that he felt comfortable taking the gig.

Another selling point for Renner was that Hawkeye is more of a supporting character in the film, which will allow him to still participate in Anderson’s film if financing comes together. Renner joins Robert Downey, Jr., Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans in the movie that will be directed by Joss Whedon.