Marvel Studios surprised fans with the announcement that Robert Downey Jr. would be returning in the next two MCU Avengers films – albeit as a different character. In place of his iconic Iron Man role, he’ll now be bringing to life the iconic supervillain Doctor Doom. Additionally, however, the surprises don’t stop there.
It’s just been revealed that Robert Downey Jr. is being paid “significantly more” than $80 million for his role in the next two Avengers movies. The two films will begin an arc that starts with Avengers: Doomsday and then leads into Avengers: Secret Wars.
The importance of Robert Downey Jr.’s role in these new films and his hefty paycheck was shared by Variety:
“Sources say Marvel is plunking down $80 million for Anthony and Joe Russo to direct ‘Avengers: Doomsday‘ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars‘ and ‘significantly more’ for Downey to tackle uber-villain Doctor Doom in the two tentpoles.”
While Downey will receive more, it’s clear that the Russo Brothers will also be receiving a major paycheck for their work on the two upcoming movies. Here’s how the outlet breaks it down:
“The Russos’ deal doesn’t include back-end compensation, but it does contain performance escalators that kick in at the $750 million and $1 billion thresholds. The brothers also will produce the two films via their AGBO banner. That marks something of a departure for Marvel, which typically doesn’t work with outside producers, preferring to keep the team in house.”
In addition to Downey’s paycheck, his deal is said to include “private jet travel, dedicated security and a whole ‘trailer encampment.'” He’s already said to be “the highest-paid member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and has pulled down between $500 million and $600 million” between his previous appearances in the massive superhero franchise.
The two films are also scheduled to begin shooting “in London beginning in the second quarter of 2025,” which marks a new change as the two previous Avengers films shot in Atlanta. As such, we have some time before we’ll see what the studio has planned, but it’s certainly going to be a massive endeavor.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for more Marvel Cinematic Universe updates as we have them. In the meantime, it’ll be exciting to see how Robert Downey Jr.’s role as Doctor Doom shapes up and what it means for the MCU going forward.