If ComicBookMovie is correct, it appears that Jeremy Renner did not learn the lessons of Terrence Howard and Edward Norton and will now pay the price for it.

The website is quoting “Hollywood sources” in saying that the actor who played Clint Barton/Hawkeye in both Thor and The Avengers is being dropped by Marvel Studios, mainly due to negative comments he made about his role in the latter film.

Renner was candid in his feelings about the way his character was portrayed on screen in an interview with Total Film magazine:

“For 90 percent of the movie, I’m not the character I signed on to play. It’s kind of a vacancy. [He's] not even a bad guy, because there’s not really a consciousness to him. To take away who that character is and just have him be this robot, essentially, and have him be this minion for evil that Loki uses … I was limited, you know what I mean? I was a terminator in a way. Fun stunts. But is there any sort of emotional content or thought process? No.”

To be fair to Renner, he does have a point. On the other hand, Hawkeye pretty much serves the same purpose as Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow character, and since Johansson joined the Marvel family first, she gets to play the hero and they had to find something else for Renner to do. That being said, even in the 10% of the film where he WAS the character he signed on to play, he really didn’t make that much of an impression. His quiver had more personality than his Hawkeye did.

But regardless, Marvel has made a point not keeping any actor who is unhappy or unable to work the Marvel way. Terrence Howard was rumored to be difficult to work with during Iron Man. so his role as James Rhodes was minimized in the sequel and he was asked to take a substantial pay cut. He balked and was allowed to walk and Don Cheadle (who was rumored to be Marvel’s first choice originally) took his place. Edward Norton was supposedly so hands-on during The Incredible Hulk that rumor has it he even did script rewrites on set. This didn’t sit well with Marvel or Joss Whedon, so in The Avengers he was replaced with Mark Ruffalo (who was rumored to also be Marvel’s first choice for the role). Hugo Weaving has also been very vocal about  not being excited about his role as the Red Skull in Captain America: The First Avenger and has expressed not being interested in reprising his role in the future. Well, everyone from Toby Jones to Hayley Atwell to Dominic Cooper will be back for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but not Weaving.

All of this makes the rumor very plausible. And all things considered, this might be the best thing for Renner. He has a burgeoning franchise in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters(which made an inexplicable amount of money overseas), appears to be in line to take over the Mission Impossible franchise in the event Tom Cruise ever lets go of it, and while many view The Bourne Legacy as a disappointing entry into the franchise, it made enough money worldwide that he might be in the mix if they continue with it. While, at Marvel, his next appearance would have been in a similar, low-key capacity in The Avengers 2. Hawkeye wouldn’t be even considered for a solo film until 2016, and there are a lot of characters, concepts and ideas in development ahead of him.

The source also brings up the possibility of the character being recast and appearing on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series. If the role is recast, it will probably be with whoever Marvel’s first choice for the role was.

1. Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters (Paramount, 3,372 Theaters, 88 Minutes, Rated R): I’d like to go on the record here and say that this could quite possibly the stupidest movie ever. Well, that’s not fair. I haven’t seen the film. Allow me to correct myself. This could quite possibly the stupidest concept for a movie ever.

Everybody knows the story of Hansel and Gretel, right? Two children are abandoned in the woods. They come across a gingerbread house. Starving, they decide to eat it. The witch who lives there does not take kindly to them eating her house and decides to eat them. The kids narrowly escape becoming Witch Chow by shoving the witch into the stove. We all learn a very valuable lesson–don’t go eating strange houses you stumble upon in the woods.

This film picks up quite a bit after that story as the pair, so angered by the witch  who was only defending their property, go into the witch hunting business. With pump-handled shot guns.  In Medieval Germany. Yep, you read that right. You can almost hear the Academy calling Jeremy Renner to rescind those two Oscar nominations now.

If the concept alone isn’t enough to keep you away, realize this was scheduled to come out in March…OF 2012! Supposedly it was delayed to capitalize on Renner’s big 2012 of The Avengers and The Bourne Legacy. Unfortunately, the only one of the two that Renner had the lead role in failed to make its budget back domestically. Tough luck!

2. Parker (FilmDistrict, 2,224 Theaters, 118 Minutes, Rated R): On the surface, this might seem like a typical Jason Stratham revenge film. But it goes a little bit deeper than that.

This is the first film adapted from the Parker line of books written by Donald E. Westlake under the the pseudonym Richard Stark where the author allowed filmmakers to keep the lead character’s names the same (for 1967′s Point Break, Lee Marvin starred as Walker and in 1999 Mel Gibson starred as Porter in Payback. Both films were adapted from Westlake/Stark’s 1962 Parker novel, The Hunter. This one is adapted from a later book called Flashfire).

The film is also directed by Taylor Hackford, whose past credits include An Officer and a Gentleman and Ray. So this should look a lot better than other films of its ilk. And with 26 novels in the Parker series, this could turn out to be lengthy franchise if this film does well.

3. Movie 43 (Relativity, 2,023 Theaters, 90 Minutes, Rated R): And then you have this movie, which is like 14 films all in one, replete with 15 writers and 12 directors. And a cast that redefines “star-studded.” Seriously, the only other place you’d see this many Oscar nominees and winners in one place would be the Oscars themselves.

The film is a parody anthology in the mode of The Kentucky Fried Movie, although it is closer structurally to the lesser known Amazon Women on the Moon. The basic conceit is that three teenage boys are looking for the most banned film of all time, and  their search brings them down the path of one offensive film after another.

The cast is awesome, but from what I’ve seen of the ads, the film looks horrible. These kinds of films are always uneven, but there seems to be very little thought put into the film other than “Let’s have all of these great actors be as filthy and offensive as they can be! Everyone will laugh!” And this film was also supposed to be released last year. Take that as you will.

More sneak previews of the goodies to be found on next month’s Avengers DVD and blu-ray release. This time we have an extended scene featuring Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki and a gag reel featuring the cast generally clowning around on set. Looking at the extended scene one can see why director Joss Whedon cut out the middle section as unnecssary. Meanwhile, the highlight of the gag reel has to be Cobie Smulders (over) dramatically vowing to avenge SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson.

The Avengers blu-ray and DVD hits shelves on September 25.

1. Hope Springs (Opened Wednesday, Sony/Columbia, 2,361 Theaters, 100 Minutes, Rated PG-13): Here’s a rare sight: a film where Steve Carell is the youngest member of the main cast.

Carell plays a psychologist who is trying to help the optimistic Kay (Meryl Streep) and the reluctantly irascible Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) to bring some magic back into their decades long marriage.

The plot seems kind of familiar, but you have Streep working with Jones, two of the best actors of their generation. If anybody can rise above their material, it will be them.

2. Nitro Circus 3D: The Movie (Opened Wednesday, Arc Entertainment, 800 Theaters, 98 Minutes, Rated PG-13): This film was based on the MTV show, which is a combination of Jackass, X Games and extreme motor sports, and is trying, like Jackass, to make a successful move to the world of film.

If this kind of stuff appeals to you, then you probably have already seen it. If not, then nothing I can say will change you mind. So, there is really not much need to say much more about this film, is there?

3. The Bourne Legacy (Universal, 3,746 Theaters, 135 Minutes, Rated PG-13): If there’s one thing Universal should get credit for, it’s doing an in continuity reboot of the franchise instead of just starting over from scratch, although the latter wasn’t really feasible because the last Matt Damon Bourne movie, The Bourne Ultimatum, came out only five years ago.

However, the idea that there could be more than just one genetically altered secret agent seems natural. So, they have Jeremy Renner to expand the franchise and the freedom to make another Bourne film with Damon is he wants to come back. Pretty smart.

4. The Campaign (Warner Brothers, 3,205 Theaters, 85 Minutes, Rated R): You don’t really expect political satire from Zach Galifianakis. Even more so from Will Ferrell. So, even though this film focuses on a contentious political campaign, don’t expect a searing indictment of our political process. It will probably be two idiots trying to out stupid each other.

The film focuses on a North Carolina GOP primary (because having a Republican and a Democrat would be, what, too shocking? Too controversial? Not as funny?) where a scandal plagued incumbent, Cam Brady (Ferrell) must face off the challenge of a naive unknown with the implausible name of Marty Huggins (Galifianakis), who is being supported incredible rich backers who want to use his influence to land a controversial business deal.

Well, I am thrilled to report that the gamble that Marvel took with this plan has paid off and paid off big. The Avengers is a hell of a summer blockbuster film and definitely is much more than the sum of its individual franchises.

Asgardian god Loki (Tom Hiddletson) is anxious to get revenge on his brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and aligns himself with a mysterious benefactor for the services of an alien army to lay waste to Thor’s favorite place, Earth. Naturally, this doesn’t sit too well with Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson), the head of the super spy agency SHIELD, who assembles the world’s most powerful superheroes to stop him including the aforementioned Thor, billionaire Tony Stark aka Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), World War Two supersoldier Captain America (Chris Evan) only recently reawakened from seven decades in suspended animation, scientist Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) who has a rather powerful alter ego and to SHIELD assassins (Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner). However, with that many Type-A personalities in the room together, Loki has little trouble in goading them into quarreling with each other rather than uniting against his plans. But the arrival of Loki’s army in the skies above midtown Manhattan galvanizes our heroes to action against the invading hordes in a finale that is one of the best sustained action sequences seen in quite some time.

Outside of J J Abrams’s recent Star Trek franchise reboot, I can’t think of a writer/director who had a tougher remit than what Joss Whedon faced with this film. He had to balance the concerns of several franchises as well as their stars as well as pick up several pre-existing story threads while still make the film accessible to audiences who haven’t seen the previous installments. Whedon does it in a way that makes it look remarkably easy. (Although not necessary, one will get a greater appreciation of some story elements if they’ve seen last summer’s Thor and Captain America.)

Of course, Whedon is able to draw on his experience as the creator of the television series Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, all of which excelled at character group dynamics. Our heroes aren’t necessarily inclined to play well together and that comes from how well Whedon’s script handles each character, which roots each conflict in their various backgrounds and personality and never for the need just to have a clash between characters.

Surprisingly, the advertisements for the film have heavily featured footage form the film’s climactic and action-packed third act. But all of those cool moments that are highlighted are only a small fraction of what that twenty-five minute sequence has to offer. Staging a battle sequence like this one takes a lot of work and Whedon brings the goods. Michael Bay mounted a similar urban battle between science-fiction heroes in the recent Transformers 3, but his battle in downtown Chicago was a messily conceived affair. Here, Whedon delivers a sequence with much cleaner action, including a couple of shots that place us in the action in markedly different ways. And of course Whedon demonstrates that he is the master of punctuating the drama with just the right amount of comic relief.

Now granted this is not high art, though now that I think of it, if anyone were to make a superhero version of My Dinner With Andre, I would want it to be Whedon. It is however, great popcorn and perhaps the most perfect summer movie we’ve seen in quite a long time.

But for all the things that The Avengers get right, there are a few minor missteps. Whedon gives Cobie Smulders a nice action scene at the beginning of the film but then relegates her for the rest of the film to standing around in the background shouting information from and reacting to readouts on computer displays. The 3D is serviceable enough for a post-production conversion but doesn’t really add too much to the proceedings. Perhaps the biggest disappointment is Alan Silvestri’s score, which is not very memorable. And when a movie like this gets the adrenaline pumping, you want something to hum on your way out of the theater. Unfortunately, the score doesn’t provide that.

Quibbles aside, The Avengers is just wall-to-wall action, thrills and fun. Marvel is going to have to work hard in the next phase of their cinematic plans to build off of what they’ve given us here. And as any comics fan can explain to you if you didn’t get it, the tease at the end of the film promises that they are certainly going to swing for the fences again with the inevitable Avengers 2. And this time I have absolutely no doubt that they will hit it out of the park.

A new photo from Marvel Studio’s upcoming The Avengers has popped up. It spotlights Captain America (Chris Evans) and SHIELD Agents Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) doing a hero’s walk through what I am guessing is either a SHIELD base or the spy organization’s Heli-Carrier. I know that some folks aren’t really thrilled with the look of Captain America’s modern day uniform, I think it looks pretty darn good here.

The picture comes courtesy of Empire magazine, though so far it has only appeared in their print edition so we only have scans so far.

The Avengers opens May 4.

You might not have known it by going from just the teaser posters that Paramount has released so far for December’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, but there are more people in the cast than just Tom Cruise. In fact, as the new poster put out by the studio today tells us, shows is Jeremy Renner, Paula Patton and Simon Pegg also will be showing up in the film!

The film marks Cruise’s fourth and perhaps final, appearance in the franchise as Impossible Missions Force agent Ethan Hunt. Rumored to being positioned to replace Cruise is Renner as IMF agent Brandt.

The film is the live action debut for Brad Bird, who had previously directed the animated features The Iron Giant for Warner Brothers and The Incredibles for PIXAR.

I have to give the folks at Marvel Studios credit. The trailer which they released today for next summer’s The Avengers is certainly exciting enough. But if you’ve been following the production of the film all summer long, a lot of the images are ones we’ve already seen. But now, we’re getting to see them in motion. Salted between many of these familiar sights are some new things including Iron Man flying and Mark Ruffalo transforming into the Hulk. But what it doesn’t have, is a shot of all the Avengers together. Perhaps in the next one.

As if an Academy Award nomination for his work in the film The Town, wasn’t enough, it looks as if Jeremy Renner is looking to cement a reputation as the guy to go to for a crime drama by becoming attached to the The King Of Heists. The film will be an adaptation of J. North Conway’s book King Of Heists: The Sensational Bank Robbery Of 1878 That Shocked America.

Renner will play the real life George Leslie, a mid-19th century architect from Ohio who moved to New York City and hid behind a shield of societal respectability while he masterminded numerous bank robberies. The largest of which was at the Manhattan Savings Institution which netted a haul of $3 million dollars in cash and securities. (That would be approximately $50 million today.) A real life Professor Moriarty, Leslie’s involvement was never even suspected until after his murder in 1878 when his various accomplices were gradually captured by the police and confessed.

This marks the second bio-pic that Renner is involved with. His production company, The Combine, which is producing this film is also developing a project based on the life of iconic actor Steve McQueen.

If you’ve been wondering how director Tony Gilroy was going to be linking his new film, The Bourne Legacy, to the previous Bourne trilogy films now that titular star Matt Damon has left the franchise, we’ve got your answer.

Joan Allen and Albert Finney are both in talks to reprise their Bourne Ultimatum characters and helping to bridge the gap between the earlier films and this new one. Allen played CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy, who initially was assigned to help hunt down Damon’s amnesiac rogue assassin only to become his ally in taking down Treadstone, the rogue CIA operation he had been a part of. Finney will be reprising his role of Dr. Albert Hirsch, the one responsible for creating the fake personas that Bourne and others were implanted with for their illegal missions.

Given that Bourne Legacy’s star Jeremy Renner will be playing another agent who went through the Treadstone operation, I suspect that Finney’s role will be somewhat integral to the plot.

Also just signed to the cast is Oscar Isaac as a fellow agent who has gone through the program and is known only by the mysterious name of Number Three. Isaac had been in contention for Legacy’s lead role but lost to Renner.

Previously cast in the film are Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton. Gilroy is also penning the screenplay, having drafted all the previous Bourne films. Shooting begins later this fall for an expected August 2012 release.

Via Variety and Deadline.