Jeremy Renner as "Hawkeye" Appearance in Thor Confirmed

Marvel Studios set a precedent for major character cameos in its "shared universe" of comic book movie adaptations in Iron Man when Samuel L. Jackson strode on stage in an end-of-credits scene as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury. Iron Man himself, Robert Downey Jr., then returned the favor by popping up in The Incredible Hulk, and the arrival of Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) on Earth was teased in Iron Man 2 when the god of thunder's hammer is found in New Mexico in an end-of-credits scene that featured Marvel mainstay Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg).

Comic book movie fans have been speculating on who or what might appear as an "Easter egg" in Marvel's next release, Thor, which kicks off the summer movie season on May 6th. Early speculation had it that two-time Academy Award-nominated actor Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) would turn up as Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, the crime-fighting archer that he will play in next summer's The Avengers. Renner recently teased that he "might" turn up in Thor, but now we have confirmation of his appearance in the movie in a slightly-more-than-a-cameo role.

After viewing footage from Thor at the currently-ongoing CinemaCon movie theater owners convention in Las Vegas, CinemaBlend broke the news about Renner's appearance:

The scene we saw featured Renner as Hawkeye, working with the infamous Agent Coulson, played as he was in the Iron Man movies, by Clark Gregg. The scene features Hawkeye using his famous bow and arrow and he has multiple lines, so while we’re talking about something a little more than a momentary cameo, there’s no way to know if his involvement will go any further than that one scene.

Thor was written by Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne and Mark Protosevich, and directed by Academy Award-nominated director Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet). Australian actor Chris Hemsworth plays the title character, with Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, Kat Dennings, Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston and Academy Award-winners Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins in supporting roles.