Robert Downey Jr. in Marvel's Avengers: too high a salary?

Robert Downey Jr. returns to Marvel to play the villain Dr. Doom in the upcoming Avengers films.

What's raised a few eyebrows has been the news of his enormous salary for the job.

Joe and Anthony Russo, directors of 'Avengers: Infinity War' and 'Avengers: Endgame', will direct the new Avengers installments. They will make $80 million each.

While the exact figure of Downey Jr's wages is unknown, Variety reports that he is getting 'significantly more' than the directors.

His estimated reward is said to be $100 million. The deal also includes perks like private jet travel, special security, and a trailer park at his disposal on film sets.

The Oscar winner and the Russos' contracts include "performance escalators" that trigger additional bonuses if the films reach $750 million and $1 billion at the box office.

Variety reported that the Russo brothers will also produce the new films through their AGBO company. This is an unusual move for Marvel, which prefers to work with in-house producers. It means that the Russos will pocket even more money for the movies.

To date, Robert Downey Jr. has earned over $500 million for all of his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to Forbes, he got $75 million for his role in 'Avengers: Endgame' alone. With this new role, he is reaching a new record.

Unlike previous Avengers films, which were shot in Atlanta, the new installments will be shot in London.

Filming will begin in the second quarter of 2025.

Marvel hasn't had an easy year. The expensive Robert Downey Jr. may have been hired to get the company back on track.

The superhero movie producer has had a tough year with underperforming titles like 'Ant-Man' (image) and 'The Marvels'.

In addition, it has had to change a lead villain for future Marvel films due to Jonathan Majors' legal issues.

Here you see Majors as Kang the Conqueror in the 'Loki' series on Disney+

Downey agreed to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) on the condition that the Russo brothers would direct. They would be the only directors he was willing to work with. (And, of course, he wanted a big bag of money.)

The two previous films directed by the Russo brothers grossed a total of $4.851 billion. So Marvel could easily bet on two new movies by the directors.

The Russo brothers made hits such as 'The Gray Man' (for Netflix, with Ryan Gosling). They also produced 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' (image).

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