Most of us know him asthe MCU’s Hawkeyetoday, but within months of his MCU debut, actorJeremy Rennermade his debut in another major action franchise. Renner’s role in 2011’sMission: Impossible – Ghost Protocolcemented his status as an action hero, creating the foundation for his legacy as Hawkeye and an action star later in his career. He plays William Brandt, one of theMission: Impossiblecharacters who deserves more screen time, but unfortunately never lived up to his potential as a character in the most famous and biggest action franchise in Hollywood history.
A year later, again within months of his iconic reprisal of Hawkeye’s role inThe Avengers(2012), Renner made an appearance in one more famous 2000s action movie franchises. The Jason Bourne franchise wasrebooted withThe Bourne Legacyin 2012, but unfortunately failed to capitalize on the potential thatJeremy Renner brought to the franchise as the new lead. While Renner did return for anotherMission: Impossiblemovie in 2015, both theBourneand theMission: Impossiblefranchises underutilized him as an action star and an actor.
The Mission: Impossible Movies Didn’t Make The Most Of Jeremy Renner
The entire point of watching aMission: Impossiblemovie is seeing Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt evading death as he runs around the world in search of a means to successfully complete his current mission. The knowledge that Cruise is performing his own stunts, often without harnesses and a second crew around to support him, buoys the experience as it increases the adrenaline rush viewers have when watching these movies.
However, over the years, the franchise has introduced quite a few other characters who are competent and adept at combat and parkour. None of them match up to Ethan Hunt, but without their contributions, Hunt wouldn’t have succeeded in some of his missions either. One such character isWilliam Brandt, played by Jeremy Renner. Renner’s character is an IMF field agent who no longer wants to go out on field operations due to his assumption that his carelessness caused Ethan’s wife Julia’s death.
While Brandt is rusty, he still has his skills, and while there are only a few scenes where we see him showcase his skills as an action star, Renner brings a jaded charm to the franchise as Brandt. Though he has more action scenes inMission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, including a daring stunt set piece, he is even more of a side character inMission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Even the former could have benefited from having more action scenes for Brandt, but the latter just feels like a waste of Renner’s talents as an action hero.
No dialogue in any of the laterMission: Impossiblemovies addresses William Brandt’s fate, and what happened to him will always be a mystery the franchise failed to answer.
Renner also gives us some of the most humorous lines in theMission: Impossiblefranchise, especially inRogue Nation, where he keeps insisting to the board that he cannot divulge details about any operation without the IMF secretary’s approval, knowing fully well the post is vacant at the moment. His acting talents are on full display asa nervous field agent and neurotic counterpart to Ethan’s radical optimismin the two movies, respectively. However, it’s hard not to feel that both films could have given him more scenes.
While Renner had his personal reasons for leaving theMission: Impossiblefranchise, he has expressed his willingness to return to the franchise quite a few times since then. William Brandt was one of the biggest candidates forcharacters who should return inMission: Impossible– The Final Reckoning, but that wasn’t to be. From his comical disposition and his memorable vault jump inGhost Protocol,to his courtroom scenes inRogue Nationand his few fight sequences, we will have to make peace with however little of Brandt the franchise gave us.
The Bourne Franchise Struggled To Move On From Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne
Matt Damon Is The Face Of The Franchise
Some characters are essential to their franchises, like Captain Jack Sparrow inPirates, Dominic Toretto inFast & Furious, Ethan Hunt inMission: Impossible, and John Wick inJohn Wick. It is impossible to imagine these action franchises without these characters, and the titular Jason Bourne of theBournefranchise is no exception. WhileFrom The World of John Wick: Ballerinais attempting to move on with a spinoff, this has often proven difficult for franchises in the past.
Jeremy Renner plays the protagonist of 2012’sThe Bourne Legacy. His character, Aaron Cross, is an Operation Outcome agent, whose physical and mental enhancements may even make him abetter agent than Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne. Cross' story starts as a direct consequence of Bourne’s actions during the trilogy. He is tracked down to be killed as part of the Colonel’s cleanup routine to rid the Earth of any remaining evidence regarding the Treadstone and Blackbriar Operations.
Renner’s character just isn’t as compelling as Damon’s Bourne.
Much like Bourne’s adventures in the trilogy, Cross' journey inThe Bourne Legacyis about survival and stealth – he must fight off assassins and stay off the radar. Renner’s skills as an action star prove to be of the utmost importance in creating Aaron Cross, as the character gets into many intense altercations. However, the choreography of the fights isn’t the best, and Renner’s character just isn’t as compelling as Damon’s Bourne.
Not only is Matt Damon inextricably linked to Jason Bourne’s character, but Bourne is also a master of stealth, unlike Aaron Cross. While there are notable fight scenes in theBournefilms starring Damon as well,The Bourne Legacyis much heavier on fight scenes, and this shift in narrative approach perhaps didn’tgo over well with die-hard Jason Bourne fans. The biggest appeal of the franchise isn’t the fighting or the action, it’s the smart espionage that Bourne is an expert in. A gritty hero like Cross would need better writing to justify focusing on him instead of Bourne.
Jason Bourne will prove impossible to replace, just likeMission: Impossible’s Ethan Hunt. While aMatt Damon and Jeremy Renner crossoverBournemovie is more than possible, even a decade after the last film in the franchise, it is rather unlikely to ever be made. According to reports, the franchise will be getting the reboot treatment, which means Renner’s Cross won’t be returning either way. TheBournefranchise could have given more time and better plotlines to Aaron Cross, but that is not to be.
Neither Franchise Should Have Tried To Replace Their Stars With Jeremy Renner
Renner Should’ve Stuck Around Both Series As A Secondary Character
One of the biggest candidates toreplace Tom Cruise inMission: Impossiblewas Jeremy Renner. While there is only speculation that the production house wanted to introduce William Brandt as a younger version of Ethan Hunt, so he could replace the latter, there has never been any confirmation. However, it is very obvious, given how every movie features other IMF agents with similar skillsets, that Brandt has a place on Ethan’s team even if he’s not meant to replace Hunt.
Similarly, while Aaron Cross’s existence is a direct consequence of Project Treadstone and its successor, Project Blackbriar, he and Bourne would have been good teammates. Thedifferences between Aaron Cross and Jason Bournemake them complementary agents who could work well together as a team. What Cross lacks in his stealth, he makes up for in resilience and physical durability, while what Bourne lacks in perception and sensory attunement, he makes up for in evasion.
Even Renner’s most famous role is as a supporting character in the MCU.
A crossover between Jason Bourne and Aaron Cross would fulfill many fans' dreams as they symbolically represent the two sides of the same coin. Bourne is a product of the system in that his country recognizes him as a rogue agent because he refuses to watch the government’s covert projects ruin lives. Cross is more literally a product of the system because he was injected with viruses to permanently enhance his senses and mental fortitude. The two are on opposite sides of the project, and their team-up would help dismantle the system even better.
Similarly, instead of giving him a reason to stay in the courtroomfor most ofMission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, the franchise should have found ways to put Brandt in the field more, alongside Ethan Hunt. Renner shouldn’t have replaced Cruise, and the franchise’s legacy is all the proof one needs, but that doesn’t mean more action scenes starring Renner would have been a bad idea. Utilizing Renner’s skills to make him another trusty sidekick to Hunt would have been the ideal way to go.
Why Jeremy Renner Hasn’t Been In More Mission: Impossible & Bourne Movies
The Actor Wanted To Focus On Parenting
Jeremy Renner left theMission: Impossiblefranchiseafter 2015’sRogue Nationbecause he wanted to be closer to his family and spend more time with his kids. Due to the high quality of action and the elaborate nature of the set pieces in the franchise,Mission: Impossiblemovies are highly demanding, both in terms of time and physical strain. Renner needed to leave if he was to make time for his family.
Since the soft reboot failed, and Matt Damon’s return to the franchise proved effective in attracting crowds and rejuvenating people’s interest in the franchise, Renner was never asked to return to theBournefranchise. Moreover,Jason Bournehas found streaming success on HBOtoday, but despite years going by since its release, there has been no official confirmation of a sequel. Because Aaron Cross wasn’t as interesting, Renner didn’t return forJason Bourne.
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Hawkeye
Jeremy Renner has played an important side character in the MCU for a decade, since his cameo in 2011’sThorto 2021’sHawkeye. So, even if he wanted to, fitting in the time necessary for an intensive film likeMission: Impossiblewould have proven impossible. Moreover, he unfortunately hada terrible accident and a near-death experiencein December 2023 when he was run over by a snowplow. So, returning forMission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, even if both parties were interested, couldn’t have happened.
Jeremy Renner’s Action Star Status Is Set Thanks To The MCU (But He Still Deserved More)
Adoring Fans Will Always Remember Him As Hawkeye
Despite having very few scenes in comparison to the bigger names attached to the MCU like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner truly broke out as an action star withThe Avengersin 2012 as Hawkeye. The absurdity of an archer playing as big a role in the fight against an alien invasion by a group of supernaturally abled people and a man in the world’s best weapon-loaded exosuit is what stands out about him. Hawkeye’s few stunts, especially the jump from a rooftop, will always live on in fans' memories.
So, even if he was never given his due by theBournefranchise or theMission: Impossiblefranchise, there is no doubt that Jeremy Renner has a strong legacy as an action star due to his role in the MCU. One might argue thateven the MCU didn’t give him his due, and I’m inclined to believe he deserved more screen time and more dedicated projects long before 2021’sHawkeye, which was mostly focused on Hawkeye, and symbolically Renner himself too, passing on the baton to another younger character and actress.
Jeremy Renner’s status as an action star has been permanently cemented because Hawkeye is quite unforgettable despite having only a few scenes. However, one can’t deny that Renner deserved more and was never given the stage to showcase his talents like he should have. His standalone action movies, likeS.W.A.T.,The Hurt Locker,The Town,Take, andTag, prove he shines in starring roles, and Jeremy Renner was criminally underutilized by all the franchises he acted in.
Mission: Impossible
TheMission: Impossiblefranchise is an American action spy series that began with the 1996 filmMission: Impossibleand has since become one of the most successful and long-running franchises in Hollywood. The films follow Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), as he takes on various high-stakes missions around the world, often involving intricate heists, double-crosses, and death-defying stunts. The franchise is renowned for its intense action sequences, particularly those performed by Tom Cruise, who insists on doing many of his own stunts.
The Bourne Legacy
The Bourne Legacy is the fourth film in the action thriller spy series based on Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne novels. Departing from the original stories, Legacy introduces a new character named Aaron Cross, who takes the lead role in the film. Following Jason Bourne’s recent actions, the decision is made to terminate all special ops projects - and Aaron Cross is one of them. Cross will rush to save a scientist involved with his project - and himself - before they and their legacy are wiped out.
