Jeremy Renner says he left the 'Mission: Impossible' franchise after learning his character would be killed off

• Jeremy Renner has revealed why he left the "Mission: Impossible" franchise.
• Renner declined to return after learning his character would be killed off, he told the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast.

Jeremy Renner leaves a movie franchise on his own terms.

After playing IMF agent William Brandt in 2011's "Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol" and 2015's "Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation," Renner was planning to return to the franchise for 2018's "Mission: Impossible — Fallout." But when he learned what Brandt's fate, he had second thoughts.

"They tried to bring me [overseas] for a week so they could kill my character, and I was like, 'No, you don't get to do that. You're not going to drag me over there and just kill my character,' like get out of here," Renner said on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast. "If you're going to do this and you're going to use my character, you're going to do it right," he continued.

He added that he also told director Christopher McQuarrie, "Dude, you're not going to do this to me like that; you're not going to do me wrong."

The star has not returned to the franchise since starring in "Rogue Nation."

Renner also noted on the podcast that he has found it challenging to work on a franchise like Mission: Impossible, which is often shot overseas, since becoming a father. He shares custody of his 11-year-old daughter Ava with his ex-wife, Canadian model Sonni Pacheco.

However, recently he told Collider that he's open to returning to the franchise if they would have him.

"Maybe now that my daughter is older, that could happen," he said. "I'd always jump into a 'Mission: Impossible' anytime and back into Brandt. It's great."

Elsewhere in the podcast interview, Renner also addressed the rumors that when he was originally cast in the "Mission: Impossible" franchise, it was because he was going to take it over from Cruise.

"No, it was always Tom's show, that would be a Tom decision if he ever wanted to change that narrative," Renner said. "And as he's maturing as an actor, he kinda wants to hold on, he's doing 'Top Gun' again, right? He's rebooting that, and let's [lean] into the things in his life that he's comfortable with now… the guy's a beast and works harder than anyone I know."