Jeremy Renner Says 'Avengers: Infinity War' Directors Received Death Threats Over Hawkeye

It sounds like some fans may have taken Clint Barton/Hawkeye's absence from Avengers: Infinity War a little too seriously.

Jeremy Renner, who portrays Hawkeye in various Marvel Cinematic Universe films, recently addressed the fan response to his lack of a role in an interview with USA Today. As Renner put it, he enjoyed seeing fans rally around his character, even if it manifested badly for the film's directors.

"It's a nice feeling, I suppose." Renner explained. "I think the Russo brothers (Anthony and Joe, who directed) got way too many death threats. I'm like, "Wow, dude, that's intense. I'm sorry!"

In the months leading up to Infinity War, the fandom handled Hawkeye's absence from the promotional material in some increasingly-creative ways - starting petitions, making over subreddits, creating plenty of fanart, and even getting a tattoo inspired by the archer. With that in mind, the thought of the Russos possibly getting death threats on the subject certainly isn't that surprising, even though it's a little macabre.

To an extent, the campaigning of Hawkeye fans didn't really lead to much, as the character did not appear in the entire film. But according to the Russo Brothers, everything will make sense with the release of next year's Avengers 4.

"We keep saying, 'Patience is a virtue.'" Joe Russo added earlier this year. "We did not forget the twice-nominated Jeremy Renner. We cooked up a story for him that is a little bit of a long play. Not a short play."

"We've said this before: the idea that some characters have great stories in the second movie." co-writer Steven McFeely echoed in another interview. "And we also gave ourselves permission to use both movies to tell complete arcs for the characters. And that might mean that somebody like Cap or Natasha you might feel like, 'Oh, they didn't have as much to do as say Thor or Doctor Strange, and that surprises me.' It's likely because they have a lot to do in the next one."

Apparently, Renner is pretty excited about what his character will have to do, even if he can't share any real details.

"Everybody's got to bite their tongue. But if you like Infinity War, there's some stuff to come," Renner shared in the same interview. "What I do know is it's going to be awesome."

Do you think the Russos deserved this kind of feedback for not putting Hawkeye in Avengers: Infinity War? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Avengers: Infinity War is in theaters now. Avengers 4 will land in theaters on May 3, 2019.