METIS (the Mid‐infrared E‐ELT Imager and Spectrograph) is a 3‐ to 14‐micron multimode instrument for the 42‐meter European Extremely Large Telescope (E‐ELT). The instrument modes currently under study include direct and coronagraphic imaging, long‐slit spectroscopy, integral field spectroscopy and polarimetry. METIS will be interfaced with the E‐ELT adaptive optics system, and incorporate its own on‐axis natural guide star wavefront sensor, and thus achieve Strehl ratios above 90% in N band. In this paper we will describe two of the main science goals of this instrument: direct imaging of exoplanets as well as the characterization of protoplanetary disks. Because of the superior angular resolution and high contrast, METIS at the E‐ELT will be able to image exoplanets at considerably closer orbits than its cooperative competitor the Mid‐infrared Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).