Jeremy Renner has been announced to portray Hawkeye in "The Avengers", but he could show up as the character earlier in "Thor". A source who has seen an early cut of the May 6, 2011 release tells TheWrap that the bow-and-arrow-carrying hero indeed appears in the film, but refuses to elaborate on the context of his appearance or when the cameo will occur.
This is, however, won't be considered as a big surprise for Marvel has been known for its habit of introducing an Avenger member in another character's film. Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury showed up at the end of "Iron Man", while Thor was introduced in "Iron Man 2" as his hammer was featured at the end credits. Back in November 2009, Renner himself speculated that his character, Hawkeye, would appear in "Thor", telling Empire, "If I was a betting man, I would bet that Hawkeye would probably show up in 'Thor', and then be in 'The Avengers'. But do I know for sure? I can't say. But I'd love for that to happen. It'd be fun."
However, a month later he walked back his statement, saying, "That was just one of those things that got blown way out of proportion. The only reason it came out this early, because Avengers is two years away, is that they're thinking OK, we may throw him in Thor, we may not, as a cameo. You know what I mean? So there's truth that we talked about it, but there's no truth to me doing it."
"Thor", led by Chris Hemsworth, will revolve around the title character who is sent down to Earth where he will try to save people from the invasion of a villain from Asgard. As for "The Avengers" which is lined up for May 4, 2012 release, it will bring together the super hero team of Marvel Comics characters.