Robert Downey Jr. speaks onstage at the Marvel Studios Panel during SDCC 2024
| Photo Credit: MATT WINKELMEYER
Marvel is revisiting familiar territory in a bid to recapture its former glory, reuniting with franchise star Robert Downey Jr. and the Russo brothers, who directed Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the studio’s most successful film. The reunion, however, comes with a hefty price tag. Variety indicates that Marvel is shelling out $80 million for Anthony and Joe Russo to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Downey’s deal, to portray the freshly announced Doctor Doom in these blockbusters, is reportedly even more. The Russo brothers’ contract includes performance escalators that activate at $750 million and $1 billion box office milestones, although it lacks back-end compensation. The Russos will also produce the films through their AGBO banner, a rare move for Marvel, which usually prefers in-house teams.
Downey, whose portrayal of Tony Stark in Iron Man (2008) was pivotal to Marvel’s rise, enjoys a contract replete with perks. This includes private jet travel, dedicated security, and an extensive trailer setup for the newly crowned Oscar winner, who earned Best Supporting Actor for his role in Oppenheimer.
He remains the highest-paid actor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, amassing between $500 million and $600 million from his roles in four Avengers films, three Iron Man movies, and cameos in The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Despite Marvel’s early dominance, recent releases like the underwhelming Ant-Man sequel and the disastrous The Marvels signaled a need for change. The future Avengers storyline, initially focused on villain Kang, was scrapped following actor Jonathan Majors’ legal issues, prompting a shift to Doctor Doom.
Downey agreed to return to the MCU only if the Russos were directing. Their two Avengers films grossed a staggering $4.851 billion combined. An insider describes the Downey/Russos reunion as a “perfect combination of timing and everyone being on the same page.” Filming for the new Avengers movies will commence in London in the second quarter of 2025.
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