It’s no secret that when an actor signs on to star in a Marvel Studios film, his or her contract also contains options to appear in X number of films for the studio. The number varies from actor to actor (Samuel L. Jackson signed for nine movies, Chris Evans signed for six), but it helps ensure that the folks at Marvel can call on one of their many comic book characters to appear in any combination of films. Since The Avengers, the team of superheroes has become more close knit, and so it makes sense that they would begin to populate each other’s movies going forward. In the case of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Marvel opted to have a S.H.I.E.L.D.-heavy sequel with Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow and Jackson’s Nick Fury playing major roles in the second Cap film.

Production just began on Marvel’s Ant-Man, but the next Marvel film set for release after the Paul Rudd-fronted feature is Captain America 3. Directors Joe Russo and Anthony Russo are likely fine-tuning the script for the third Cap film as we speak, and when we recently spoke with Jeremy Renner in anticipation of his upcoming film Kill the Messenger, he revealed that there are “rumblings” that Renner’s Hawkeye might have a supporting role in Cap 3. More after the jump.

During an interview with Collider correspondent Shiela Roberts, Renner got to talking about his incredibly busy schedule. In the midst of listing off his upcoming projects, Renner revealed that he may or may not have a role in the third Captain America film:

“There are rumblings of Captain America 3. I don’t know what’s going to happen there. I’ve got to find the time, man (laughs). I’m trying to stay home and I can’t.”

This is a curious bit of casting news, but it makes sense. Steve Rogers’ story began in the 1940s, so all of the characters from the first Captain America film are either dead or way, way too old for combat. Unlike the Thor or Iron Man movies where there are a number of supporting characters that can appear in the individual franchises, Rogers is a man out of time. The Winter Soldier introduced Anthony Mackie’s Falcon so one imagines he’ll be returning for Captain America 3, but it appears that a S.H.I.E.L.D. switcheroo might be taking place as Renner’s Hawkeye could have a supporting role in Cap 3 akin to Black Widow’s presence in The Winter Soldier. Moreover, the Hawkeye/Captain America pairing might feel more appropriate after we’ve seen where the characters end up in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Hawkeye and Black Widow are the only two Avengers without their own standalone franchises, so I guess injecting them into the Captain America universe is Marvel’s way of putting Renner and Johansson’s contracts to good use. But if Renner starring in Captain America 3 means Johansson won’t be a part of the film, might that mean Marvel is finally prepping a standalone Black Widow movie for Johansson, thus moving forward with a female-led superhero feature after 13 male-heavy films? It’s unclear and there’s certainly no indication from Renner’s quotes that Johansson won’t be in Captain America 3, but putting Renner in the film could be Marvel’s way of adding Avengers connective tissue to the movie while keeping Johansson’s Marvel contract open for a different film altogether.

There’s no guarantee that Renner will be in Captain America 3, but if Renner is saying there are “rumblings” with regards to his upcoming schedule, I imagine Marvel, the Russo brothers, and scribes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely have come to a place in the screenplay process where they’re ready to start reaching out to actors.

But Renner’s schedule is indeed busy, as he gave us a rundown of where his non-Marvel franchises (ie. Mission: Impossible 5 and the next Bourne film) fall on his docket:

“Kill the Messenger is a great one for our company. It’s our first one we’ve produced and it’s setting a tone for what we want to do to the public and to other people that want to make movies. Another one is King of Heists that’s about the biggest bank robbery in American History. It’s very, very exciting. It’s kind of like Heat in the early 1900’s. It’s really cool. And then, there’s a Steve McQueen project (McQueen) that’s fascinating to me. I love that guy. He’s so the antithesis of himself constantly. It’s amazing. And then Slingshot is a great rally racing movie. It’s again another one with themes of underdogs. But then, I still have Mission: Impossible 5 that I’m going to shoot in a week. And then, Bourne will happen next summer.”

As production on Ant-Man continues and Marvel begins to prep Captain America 3 for a 2015 shoot, expect to hear more word on the sequel soon. It’s scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 6, 2016.

Captain America 3