From 2008 to today, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has always employed a heavy use of CGI, as it’s the only way to bring everything from Iron Man’s armor to the landscape of Titan to life. We’ve all seen those behind-the-scenes images which reveal just how much of an MCU movie is created in post-production. It presents a unique challenge for the cast of these films as it means they have to rely an awful lot on their imagination while shooting.
Hawkeye star Jeremy Renner has gone so far as to say he has no idea what a Marvel movie is even going to look like when it’s done. In a GQ video looking back at his most iconic roles, Renner explained that he has “zero clue” how the finished product will look when working for Marvel Studios, which is “completely different” from his experience on more grounded projects like crime drama Wind River (in which he starred opposite fellow MCU-er Elizabeth Olsen).
“Well, it’s just different right?” he began. “You really wanna see… I know what Wind River‘s gonna look like when it’s done. I have no idea what the film is gonna look like in the Marvel Universe. I have zero clue. I mean, I know the scenes we shot when it’s inside of a lab or something. But, like when you don’t know what the backdrop is, or what the Hulk really looks like. It’s just completely different.”
For Renner, the best thing about being part of the MCU is the strong friendships he’s formed with the other original founding members of the Avengers, with the actor going on to call their bond a “blessing.”
“It’s been a wonderful, wonderful, you know, blessing, first and foremost,” he added. “Five amazing friends that we’ve all shared something very similar and been through a lot of things together personally and cinematically. We shared so much together. That shared experience is where it’s all at for me. It’s a beautiful thing.”
What with all the CG-action and ever ballooning casts, Renner admitted that there are “limitations” in a Marvel movie in terms of the character development they can achieve. However, he did praise the moments within them that allow for the heroes to be explored a little more, like the revelation that Clint Barton had a family in Avengers: Age of Ultron.
“And within the world, you know, when it gets to the character and stuff, there’s like limitations of like how to really kind of, forward the character, understand the character more” Renner continued. “Because, everyone’s got a cog in the wheel to support the whole picture. There’s been telling, you know, like in Age of Ultron, when Hawkeye had a family. that no one knew about. And this farm in the middle of nowhere, and that was very telling.”
Presumably, Renner had an easier time envisioning how Hawkeye would appear on screen when making it, as the TV series is much more grounded and less reliant on CG environments and characters than an Avengers flick. Most of the time, it involves himself and co-star Hailee Steinfeld on location in New York or in tactile sets. Likewise, it puts more focus on Clint’s inner life than ever before. So this must’ve been a particularly special MCU project for him.
See Jeremy Renner in Hawkeye, releasing new episodes Wednesdays on Disney Plus.
