Does Jeremy Renner's William Brandt Return For Mission Impossible 7?

We've got some bad news, Rennervators.

Beloved Marvel Cinematic Universe star Jeremy Renner does not appear whatsoever in "Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part I." The actor first joined the franchise in 2011 for "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol," playing fugitive CIA analyst/deep cover IMF agent William Brandt. He returned several years later to help Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) dismantle the Syndicate in "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation," making him one of a handful of actors to be brought back for multiple films in the blockbuster spy franchise.

Given how the film brought back Eugene Kittridge (Henry Czerny) as the director of the CIA, it's surprising that Renner is absent — even if he hasn't been seen attached to the franchise since before "Mission: Impossible — Fallout." At this point, we are still awaiting confirmation that Renner will not appear in "Dead Reckoning Part Two," though when taking into account recent events, it seems likely that the star will remain outside of the "Mission: Impossible" franchise for the foreseeable future.

The first "Mission: Impossible" film Jeremy Renner missed was "Fallout" in 2018. Though they don't outright justify or otherwise make some mention of his disappearance in the narrative, director Christopher McQuarrie revealed that his departure came down to an unfortunate scheduling conflict. According to him, Renner was under contract with Marvel Studios at the time, almost definitely for work on "Avengers: Endgame." Based on McQaurrie's comments, it seems as though Renner would be welcome to rejoin in the future at the time.

So why isn't he in "Dead Reckoning Part One?" The reasoning may be quite similar. Due largely in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seventh "Mission: Impossible" film wound up shooting in late 2020 — the exact same timeframe when Renner was filming his Disney+ series Hawkeye. In fact, when the audio recording of Tom Cruise yelling at two crew members in London, England for not following COVID protocols was leaked online from December of that year, Renner was in snowy New York City practicing his archery.

No official word has come down if Renner is out for Part Two, but it's probably safe to say he won't be involved in any extensive capacity. As our readers are likely aware, Renner suffered a scary snow plow accident earlier this year, and might not be ready for a stunt-heavy project like a "Mission: Impossible" film. Then again, if the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes continue long enough, schedules may align for Renner to return to the IMF once more.