Jeremy Renner Refused to Star in His Third ‘Mission: Impossible’ Movie Just So ‘They Could Kill My Character’: ‘You Don’t Get to Do That…Get Out of Here!’
Jeremy Renner’s history with the “Mission: Impossible” franchise spans two films, 2011’s “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” and 2015’s “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.” During an interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, the actor revealed that he was actually asked to reprise the character of IMF agent William Brandt in the 2018 sequel “Fallout.” However, the offer was apparently for Renner to shoot one week so that Brandt could be killed off. Renner refused.
“I remember they tried to bring me over[seas] for a week so they could kill my character, and I was like, ‘No, you don’t get to do that. You’re not going to drag me over there and just kill my character,’ like get out of here!” Renner said. “If you’re going to do this and you’re going to use my character, you’re going to do it right.”
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“I yelled at [director Christopher McQuarrie],” Renner added with a laugh. “Dude, you’re not going to do this to me like that; you’re not going to do me wrong.”
Renner never returned to the “Mission: Impossible” franchise after “Rogue Nation,” although he recently told Collider that he would be open to coming back.
“I was supposed to do more with them,” Renner said of the “Mission: Impossible” cast. “I love those guys. I love Tom so much. We had so much fun, and I love that character a lot. It requires a lot of time away. It’s all in London. I had to go be a dad. It just wasn’t gonna work out then. Maybe now that my daughter is older that could happen. I’d always jump into a ‘Mission: Impossible’ anytime and back into Brandt. It’s great.”
When Renner appeared in “Rogue Nation,” rumors circulated that Paramount was eyeing him to take over the franchise from Tom Cruise. That’s not true, the actor said on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast.
“No, it was always Tom’s show, that would be a Tom decision, if he ever wanted to change that narrative,” Renner said. “And as he’s maturing as an actor, he kinda wants to hold on, he’s doing ‘Top Gun’ again, right? He’s rebooting that, and let’s [lean] into the things in his life that he’s comfortable with now…the guy’s a beast and works harder than anyone I know.”
Watch Renner’s full interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in the video below.
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