Jeremy Renner’s William Brandt was a bad*ss IMF agent introduced in Tom Cruise’s fourth film, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Renner reprised his role in the next movie, Rogue Nation, and was even rumored to take over the series from Cruise. However, he left the series right before the sixth film and it may have to do with one of the ideas from director Christopher McQuarrie.
McQuarrie took over as the director of the films from Rogue Nation onwards and planned to kill off Renner’s character in Fallout. Renner didn’t want to go out like that in the films and turned down the opportunity to appear in the sixth film.
Jeremy Renner Was Not Happy With Mission: Impossible Director’s Idea To Kill Him Off
Jeremy Renner decided to take a break from the Mission: Impossible series for his daughter. However, director Christopher McQuarrie wanted him to return for a one-week overseas schedule for Mission: Impossible – Fallout. He was informed that he was going to be killed off in the film and the actor turned down the opportunity in the film.
During an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast, the Mayor of Kingstown actor revealed that he yelled at the director for the ridiculous idea. Renner’s character William Brandt had some badass scenes in the previous films alongside Tom Cruise and he didn’t want to go out like that in the film.
He revealed to Horowitz that he outright told the director that if they were going to kill off Brandt they had to do it right. Renner shared on the Happy, Sad, Confused podcast:
I remember they tried to bring me over[seas] for a week so they could kill my character, and I was like, ‘No, you don’t get to do that. You’re not going to drag me over there and just kill my character,’ like get out of here!
If you’re going to do this and you’re going to use my character, you’re going to do it right. I yelled at the director, dude, you’re not going to do this to me like that; you’re not going to do me wrong.
Renner also shared during the interview that he had to step away from the franchise for his daughter Ava. He shared that he loved working with Cruise and the other guys in the film. But his schedule kept him away from his daughter for an extended period. He shared that he had to be near his daughter and be a dad to her.
Jeremy Renner Is Willing to Return as William Brandt In The Franchise
The Mission: Impossible series filmed two movies without Jeremy Renner in it. As Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and team face off against a menacing AI villain currently, the team could use a returning William Brandt. The Avengers actor is up for it as he shared that since his daughter is a bit older now, he could join the franchise in overseas locations. He shared with Josh Horowitz:
It just wasn’t gonna work out then. Maybe now that my daughter is older that could happen. I’d always jump into a Mission: Impossible anytime and back into Brandt. It’s great.
After his introduction in Ghost Protocol, there was a rumor at the time that Renner was going to take over the franchise from Cruise. Renner dismissed the rumors and told Reuters, “There’s no taking over. It’s not happening.” The direct sequel of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is currently in development and is scheduled to be released on May 23, 2025.
The Mission: Impossible films are now available for streaming on Paramount+.
