Mission Impossible star Jeremy Renner is a superhero off-screen too. The actor was down with one of the worst times of his life in January 2023. While preventing his nephew from a dangerous snow plow accident, he ended up injuring himself in the process. The Bourne Legacy actor is recovering from the accident which almost killed him.

Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner has not only been a part of the billion-dollar superhero franchise MCU but also was a part of the fourth installment of the Mission Impossible franchise in 2011. According to the rumors, the Hawkeye actor was supposed to replace Tom Cruise in the super spy series.

Was Jeremy Renner Supposed To Replace Tom Cruise In The Mission Impossible Franchise?

The fourth installment of the Tom Cruise-led spy drama had a few new faces on board. One of the most prominent names that went on to share a significant role in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol was Jeremy Renner. He was a rising talent back in 2010.

During an interview with the entertainment outlet, MTV’s News’ Thankful Week Jeremy Renner spoke about his upcoming project with Tom Cruise. While commenting on the speculations about being the potential replacement for Ethan Hunt, the actor said-

“It’s a franchise to potentially take over,” he said. “I can’t predict the future and what they want, but that’s certainly the idea.”
Jeremy Renner and Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol While talking about the stunts he went on to mention that every stunt that he and his co-star performed was of extreme level. The actor mentioned-

“I haven’t gotten to work too much in terms of acting stuff, but the stunts have been insane. Tom has been doing loads. He’s crazy, that guy. It’s unbelievable. He’s fearless. He’s great to watch. He inspires me to want to be better. I’m training in the gym and working out and fighting and doing everything I can to try and keep up.”
Jeremy Renner portrayed William Brandt, who has been entrusted to work with the super spy Etha Hunt in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. The Wind River actor debunked the rumors regarding replacing Tom Cruise in the spy drama series and has always maintained that the multi-million dollar franchise is Tom’s Baby.

Jeremy Renner On Being A Part Of The Mission Impossible Franchise

Jeremy Renner was never supposed to be a part of the Mission Impossible franchise. During an interview with the media outlet Vanity Fair, the American actor revealed that a meeting with Tom Cruise changed everything. According to Jeremy Renner, he met director JJ Abrams to discuss a part in Super 8, but due to some urgent issue, the director had to meet Tom Cruise. Jeremy Renner was asked to join the meeting too. Later that evening he got a call from Tom Cruise for offering him a role in the fourth chapter of Mission Impossible. The actor recalled-
“So, I’m driving across from Santa Monica now back into Hollywood, and I was sitting in this room, and talking to Tom Cruise and all the people who were involved in that, the director… And they say ‘Hey, we want you in this movie,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay, great. All this sounds amazing, but why me?’ And they’re like ‘Well, because we look at you and you can be a good guy or a bad guy.
Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner
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People might be on the fence. You’re like a coiled spring.’ I’m like ‘Great, I understand that. I get why you say that.’ I didn’t say yes or no, I just hugged them all, and I went home. And I got a phone call from Tom – first of all, how does Tom Cruise have my home line?… And he says ‘So, do you wanna do it or not?’ ‘Yeah, of course, I’ll do it. I’ll do it, yeah, sure.’ And I hung up. So that’s how I got the role.”
After the fourth installment, Jeremy Renner was supposed to make a comeback for Christopher McQuarrie-directed Mission Impossible: Fallout. Due to his commitment to Avengers: Infinity War, things did not pan out the way it was planned.