Movies - TV
Why Jeremy Renner Isn’t In Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning
By SANDY SCHAEFER
When Tom Cruise very nearly retired as the star of the "Mission: Impossible" films after 2011's "Ghost Protocol," co-star Jeremy Renner was first in line to succeed him.
At the time, the franchise was at a crossroads: "Mission: Impossible III" was only a modest success, and it stood to reason Cruise would eventually want to stop playing Ethan Hunt.
Christopher McQuarrie, who did uncredited rewrites on "Ghost Protocol,” then took over the helm on 2015's "Rogue Nation," in which Renner reprised his role as aide William Brandt.
However, Renner’s Brandt vanished in between that film and the sixth entry, 2018’s "Fallout." On Empire Magazine’s podcast, McQuarrie said Renner passed due to another commitment.
That commitment, "Avengers: Infinity War," didn’t pan out either, and Renner "got caught in this perfect storm of, one can't use you and one doesn't know how to," McQuarrie said.
McQuarrie then pitched the idea of killing off Brandt to the actor, but Renner turned him down — a smart move, according to McQuarrie, given the short paycheck to get blown up.