It was one of the most surprising moments in the off-camera history of the MCU — Doctor Doom, dressed in his usual garb, removing his mask at San Diego Comic-Con to reveal Robert Downey Jr. underneath it, spreading his arms in a weird simulacrum of his famous pose as Iron Man. Additionally, because Downey Jr. wouldn’t return for any other directors, Marvel announced that the Russo brothers would be returning to direct both upcoming Avengers movies. Whether you find this move to be a cynical and depressing sign of Marvel’s creative decline or are super stoked about seeing Tony Stark get Doomed-up, one thing is certain — it’s a damn expensive gamble. Just those three men may cost Marvel roughly $200 million. As Variety reports:
“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. 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.”
Then again, $200 million may be chump change compared to what those two movies might make at the worldwide box office. After all, the two Avengers flicks that Joe and Anthony Russo previously directed, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, made a combined total of $4.85 billion worldwide.
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Avengers 5: Will Doctor Doom Be Connected to Iron Man or Is Everyone Overthinking It?
Since Robert Downey Jr. was announced as Doctor Doom, many have assumed he is an Iron Man variant, but the actor might be where any connections end.
Attention RDJ: Share the Love, Donate to Charity
Additionally, Robert Downey Jr. is one of the ones who started it all, back in the early days of the MCU and Iron Man. He’s also hot right now in Hollywood thanks to his recent Oscar win for Oppenheimer. Still, one somewhat hopes that he donates a good chunk of his $100 million-plus paycheck to good causes; after all, isn’t Tony Stark rich enough at this point?
“According to one knowledgeable source, Downey is by far the highest-paid member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” continued Variety writer Tatiana Siegel, “and has pulled down between $500 million and $600 million over the course of four Avengers movies, three Iron Man outings and cameos in The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, and Spider-Man: Homecoming.”
What’s not even mentioned in the actual payment to Downey is that his deal also includes a high-tier security team, private jet travel, and what’s being called a “trailer encampment,” so it sounds like they’re building a little Xanadu for the son of great independent filmmaker Robert Downey Sr. Let’s hope it’s worth it, Marvel fans.
