During a recent interview with Radio Times, Jeremy Renner revealed he wanted Hawkeye to die in the first Avengers movie:
On frustration with Hawkeye’s role in the first film: “I never really told anybody this, but in the first Avengers… I was just getting to know who Hawkeye was, and then zap, I go round like a zombie, I’m like Loki’s minion. And I’m still not even sure who Hawkeye was at that point. So I’m a little frustrated, because I was so excited to figure out who Hawkeye was.”
On trying to get Hawkeye killed off: “I just had a heart attack in every scene – I’d just be walking with… Scarlett Johansson, and just like be ugh. And they said, ‘what are you doing man?’ I’m giving you an option, if you just want to kick me out of this movie. Just you know, at any given moment, if you wanna kill me off, daddy’s gonna be having a heart attack.”
On changing his mind: “I don’t really want him to die now. I really got to explore him a lot, and I can’t wait to explore him more, and there’s some really cool ideas coming up. Really cool ideas. Great deaths! Amazing ways to die.”