Hot off his Oscar nominated role in the Academy darling The Hurt Locker, Jeremy Renner is quickly becoming a hot commodity at the age of 39 and is near a deal to star as Hawkeye in the upcoming Marvel mega-project The Avengers.
Though buzz last fall indicated Renner might be in talks, the news is looking more and more legitimate and following the announcement that Joss Whedon is going to direct, the continually culminating project is quickly becoming the must-see blockbuster event of 2012.
Hawkeye, an arrow and cross-bow wielding badass, debuted into the Marvel universe as a reluctant villain but soon became a regular member of The Avengers team.
Renner will join the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans as Iron Man, Thor and Captain America respectively. Edward Norton has long expressed interest in reprising his role as The Hulk for future projects, but it is still unknown what his place will be in The Avengers, if any.
Outside of the comic book genre, Renner will star in the Ben Affleck directed The Town, The Raven about Edgar Alan Poe and an as-yet untitled Paul Thomas Anderson film.