The official announcement of Jeremy Renner's involvement with "The Avengers" came just two short months ago, but whispers of his involvement predate the announcement by almost a full year. In fact, Renner's relationship with the major Marvel franchise goes back even further — at least, his relationship with director Joss Whedon does.
"I've known Joss actually for a long while from doing a little arc on 'Angel,' which was fun," Renner told MTV News, referring to Penn, a centuries old vampire who eventually adopted the serial killer moniker "The Pope."
Based on his past experience working with Whedon, Renner feels confident that the director has a solid grasp on "The Avengers" and the greater Marvel Universe.
"He's got a very good sensibility," he said. "It's a world he knows very well. He kind of gave me an idea of where the character is going. It's all grounded in reality, which is great. It's a character, Hawkeye, that isn't really a superhero — he just has a high skill set. That's something I can also connect to. I just have to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow!"
In addition to his lack of superpowers, the character won't be seen running around in the blue-and-purple tights that he's known for in the comic books.
"You can kind of tell with Scarlett [Johansson]'s character [in 'Iron Man 2'], it's going to be more of a uniform . . . and not a big purple, comics sort of thing," Renner said previously. "That's why I think it's more palatable to audiences — there's almost a sense of reality to these superheroes."
Will Renner's past experience with Whedon help his "Avengers" performance? Tell us what you think in the comments and on Twitter!
