Jeremy Renner may have jumped into more movie franchises than he can handle. As it stands, the Oscar nominated actor barely has time to fit in passion projects like next month's Kill The Messenger in between his blockbuster obligations. Coming off shooting The Avengers: Age of Ultron, the actor is currently working away on Mission: Impossible 5 - a series he signed a three-picture deal for after Tom Cruise personally convinced him to do so.

And next up, sequels are in early development for The Bourne Legacy where he may finally team up with Matt Damon, and Hansel & Gretel where the star will return alongside Gemma Arterton (once it finds a new director). It was this over-the-top schedule of high profile movies that played into Renner not having a role in this year's Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a part that would have involved a cool action sequence as revealed to us by directors Anthony and Joe Russo when we chatted with them on the Screen Rant Underground podcast. But, amongst all those upcoming features, the Russos may still get the chance to work with Renner on Captain America 3. That is, if you can believe some of what Renner says.

In multiple recent interviews, Renner has talked about his increased role in The Avengers sequel and how he might have a part to play in Captain America 3. The directors wouldn't confirm or deny when we asked, and since then, the star has been playing it coyly, now claiming it's all just a rumor - one that he just happened to begin himself. This begs the question of just how many Marvel movies Renner signed on for. He teased to MTV that a typical conversation with Marvel might be for something like "seven movies" but in chatting with The Daily Beast he got a little more specific and said he signed for The Avengers 1-3 and Hawkeye, "in case they wanted to do a Hawkeye spinoff."

Hawkeye in Captain America The Winter Soldier

Both Hawkeye and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) have been mentioned as potential spinoff properties but we established years ago that neither of these are likely ever to happen. There's not enough bankability in either of these characters on their own versus other Marvel solo characters, them together, or them alongside other characters. Renner, thanks to his schedule, isn't even interested in a Hawkeye solo feature anymore and prefers the lower-pressure ensemble pieces like The Avengers series or Captain America 3, the latter of which sounds increasingly likely to be another Avengers-style ensemble itself with Hawkeye part of Cap's next team.

Perhaps that is taking the place of his Hawkeye solo feature, contractually speaking, making The Avengers 3 his last appearance, potentially alongside Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr. and others whose contracts end with that movie as well. Renner will only say this much about Captain America 3 nowadays - likely after a stern talking to by Marvel:

"Oh, that’s a rumor all right! I don’t know what’s going to happen. I know it’s going to start shooting in March. I haven’t had any official conversations about doing it or not."

We think you know what's going to happen, Mr. Renner, just like you knew about Hawkeye showing up in Thor well before The Avengers and knew all about his costume. As for what work there's left to do for The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which wrapped two months ago:

"We have to do some pick-up shots here and there, but for the most part. Hulk has a more prominent role, and I have a more prominent role. There are a lot more scenes of the entire Avengers gang together—both in and out of the cape, so to speak. It’s making me become a total fanboy. It’s pretty fun to be a part of."

Renner also offered a little more of a tease for Clint Barton aka Hawkeye getting more screen time in Age of Ultron when chatting with Starpulse:

"Well there's a lot more in this next Avengers, which is great. It was fun to finally kind of discover who Clint Barton is a little bit. We have some good secrets revealed. I think everything that was great about the first Avengers, is exponentially expressed in this one. From the action, to the making fun of itself, and there's a lot more time spent with the Avengers together, after being so separated in the first one. We've got some great new goodies, and some good baddies."

At this point, we can only assume that Hawkeye doesn't get killed off in The Avengers 2 despite speculation that he could be the most likely to pay the ultimate price against the team's greatest adversary to date. Even with Joss Whedon teasing the idea of "death" in Age of Ultron, long before we even knew the film's title, perhaps that all could be saved for The Avengers 3 when we might see all of Marvel's movie characters - including the Guardians of the Galaxy - come together to fight Thanos.

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More: The Avengers 2 Plot Synopsis

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The Avengers: Age of Ultron releases in theaters on May 1, 2015, followed by Ant-Man on July 17, 2015, Captain America: Civil War on May 6 2016, Doctor Strange on November 4, 2016, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 on May 5 2017, Thor: Ragnarok on July 28, 2017, Black Panther on November 3 2017, Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1 on May 4 2018, Captain Marvel on July 6 2018, Inhumans on November 2 2018 and Avengers: Infinity War - Part 2 on May 3 2019.

Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes for your Marvel movie and TV news!

Sources: MTV, StarpulseThe Daily Beast