Years after a near-death accident, the Marvel universe may be getting back Jeremy Renner.
In a new interview with Empire, Renner, 54, who portrayed comic book archer Hawkeye in several superhero blockbusters, revealed he’s ready for a return to the big screen. “I’m always happy to be in that world, man,” he told the publication. “I love all those guys, I love the character.”
Hawkeye got his main character treatment in 2021, when Disney+ launched a series starring Renner and Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop, his partner in (stopping) crime. The series was largely viewed as an alternative to a standalone movie – a format used for all the remaining Avengers.
Jeremy Renner reveals how Robert Downey Jr. cheered him up after snowplow accident
“I’m sure we’ll end up doing Season 2 (of Hawkeye) and do other things. And I’m happy to do it,” he told Empire. “My body’s getting ready for something like that. I don’t know if anybody wants to see me in tights, but my body will look good in the tights.”
In 2023, Renner was hospitalized after being crushed under a 14,000-pound snowplow, which ran him over as he tried to help his nephew with a car issue. He suffered more than 30 broken bones and a collapsed lung. In an interview with ABC News’ Diane Sawyer that same year, he revealed he could “see my eye with my other eye.”
He made an acting return the following year, reviving his role on the Paramount+ series “Mayor of Kingstown.”
“When I’m walking, I’m focusing on each joint, each step,” he told USA TODAY at the time. “It takes brainpower just to do the basic things we don’t typically think about.”
Renner’s hints at a “Hawkeye” second season differ from an interview in May, in which the star told hosts of “The High Performance” podcast that he had turned down an offer from Marvel for less pay.
“They asked me to do Season 2, and they offered me half the money. I’m like, ‘Well, it’s going to take me twice the amount of work for half the amount of money,'” he said.
But now, Renner is implying he’s ready to pick the arrow back up.
“That’s where I’m at,” he told Empire. “I’m more than 150% of what I was prior to the incident.”
Contributing: Brendan Morrow, KiMi Robinson and Edward Segarra
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jeremy Renner is ready for ‘Hawkeye’ Season 2 after accident
