Jeremy Renner had no idea how good Denis Villeneuve was until he saw Arrival in theatres.

Outside of his popularity in the MCU, Jeremy Renner has been a part of some excellent character-driven films that showed his range as an actor. He first gained significant praise early in his career playing serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in the 2002 indie film Dahmer. He received further recognition for his incredible performances in The Town and The Hurt Locker.

Jeremy Renner as James Coughlin in The Town
His most overlooked film from the 2010’s is undoubtedly Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneuve years before he did Dune. Villeneuve’s film presented a unique sci-fi take, involving extra-terrestrial creatures which Renner was initially not sure of how it would turn out. The actor was blown away by the genius of Villeneuve and the brilliance of the film after watching it.

Jeremy Renner Was in Tears After Watching Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival

Jeremy Renner and Amy Adams’ characters decoded alien language and behavior in Arrival
Denis Villeneuve‘s Arrival is one of the director’s most inventive efforts, as the film’s narrative was told more from visual imagery and subtle cues rather than the actual dialogue. The film starred Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, who play a linguist and physicist, who come together to communicate and study the extra-terrestrial organisms that have come on Earth, and their intentions for doing so.

It was the first time that both actors were working with Villeneuve, and they trusted him to create something special with the film. In an interview with GQ, Renner revealed that he was not sure how the film would turn out as he couldn’t fully grasp the metaphorical and thematic intentions that Villeneuve had while he shot the film.

However, when he saw the film, Renner was completely blown away by what Villeneuve had created. He had such a cathartic feeling after watching it that he even started weeping after coming out of the theater. Renner realized how incredible a filmmaker Villeneuve was and praised him for being an inspiring visionary director. He said,

“I remember exactly where I saw it, I remember exactly what happened to me. I had to sit and be like; “goddamn, that’s a [bleep] filmmaker.” I walked out and I started weeping in the parking lot. I was just so thrown back by what he (Denis Villeneuve) was able to put together. There’s some CG, there’s a lot of stuff I wouldn’t understand or know, in terms of what the film would look like and how it would actually come together. So, seeing that. Wow, that’s a filmmaker.”

The film is more of an artistic sci-fi piece from Villeneuve and drastically different from the usual action-heavy sci-fi films involving extra-terrestrial characters. Renner’s experience after watching the film is great to hear and it shows how far Villeneuve has evolved as a director in Hollywood.

Jeremy Renner Is Game to Return As Hawkeye in the MCU

Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton in Hawkeye
Jeremy Renner has played Hawkeye for more than 10 years in the MCU and his most recent appearance was in 2021’s Hawkeye. While the show’s ending teased a passing of the baton for Hawkeye to Kate Bishop, neither the studio nor Renner have ever confirmed that the character has permanently retired.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, Renner revealed that his Marvel family was incredibly supportive during his recovery process after his terrible snowplow accident. The actor stated that he is stronger now and is ready to return as Hawkeye whenever the studio wants him to. He said,

“I’m always game. I’m gonna be strong enough, that’s for sure. I’ll be ready. All those guys come to my bedside and they’ve been with me all along through this recovery, so… if they want me, they could have me. It would be something.”

There has been no official news about the character’s return for now. One can assume that the character might most possibly return in the upcoming Avengers films. It remains to be seen if Renner returns as the character with a great new narrative arc in the MCU’s future.