Robert Downey Jr. Made More Than $500M as Iron Man – He’s Now Set to Up His Paycheck as Doctor Doom

Robert Downey Jr. is officially back with Marvel, but this time he’s switching sides. Instead of suiting up as Iron Man, he’s stepping into the shoes of one of Marvel’s biggest villains, Doctor Doom, for Avengers: Doomsday. And he’s not doing it for cheap.

According to people familiar with the deal, Downey is making about $95 million to play Doom in both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. That’s on top of the hundreds of millions he’s already made from his time in the Marvel universe.

Over the years, between four Avengers films, three Iron Man movies, and cameos in The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War, and Spider-Man: Homecoming, Downey has earned somewhere between $500 million and $600 million.

The return didn’t just happen overnight. Variety reported that talks for Downey’s comeback started at least a year ago. One source close to the deal said there was one big condition: “He wanted the Russo brothers helming the movie, and that’s the only way he would have it.” Anthony and Joe Russo, who directed Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, are back to take the reins on both new Avengers films.

The Russos are also walking away with a massive payday. Variety says Marvel is paying them $80 million to direct the two movies, with extra performance bonuses if the box office hits $750 million or $1 billion. They’ll also be producing through their own company, AGBO, which is a big change since Marvel usually keeps production in-house.

Downey’s deal goes beyond just the paycheck. Sources say it includes luxury perks like private jet travel, personal security, and a huge trailer setup on set.

Sure, $95 million sounds huge, but Marvel clearly knows Downey can deliver. He’s been a major reason the studio’s biggest films have broken records before, and they’re betting he can do it again, even if he’s playing the bad guy this time.

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