Jeremy Renner Hints at Possible Return to Mission: Impossible

The Star Reflects on Fatherhood, Career Choices, and a Harrowing Accident

Jeremy Renner may have stepped away from the Mission: Impossible series, but he hasn’t closed the door on returning to his role as William Brandt.

Renner, known for his role as Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, joined the Mission: Impossible franchise in the 2011 film Ghost Protocol. His character, Brandt, retired from the Impossible Mission Force at the end of 2015’s Rogue Nation.

In a conversation with Collider, Renner disclosed the primary reason for his departure, amidst earlier speculation that he was being prepped to take over from Tom Cruise as the lead.

“I had to leave that,” Renner explained. “I was supposed to do more with them. 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.”

Renner became a father in March 2013 when he and his ex, Sonni Pacheco, welcomed their daughter Ava. Wanting to be a hands-on parent influenced his decision to step back from the franchise. Now that Ava is older, Renner is open to reprising his role.

“Maybe now that my daughter is older that could happen,” he said. “I’d always jump into a Mission: Impossible anytime and back into Brandt. It’s great.”

Recently, on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Renner shared insights about his relationship with his daughter and recounted his life-threatening snowplow accident in January 2023. He sustained over 30 broken bones and a crushed skull while saving his nephew from being run over by a 14,300-pound snowcat, which then rolled over him.

Renner’s injuries were so severe that he temporarily forgot who his daughter was. Upon returning home from the hospital, he saw real fear in her eyes for the first time.

“The reality of what transpired really set in,” he shared. “What I had done to my daughter, what I actually did to my nephew, to my whole family, that really set in. So, I asked her to wait for me. I said, ‘These are just 38 broken bones, darling. And they’re all going to heal. And I promise, if you wait for me, I’ll be better, I’ll be faster, I’ll be stronger than you’ve ever seen before. I promise. You have to wait for me.’”