The biggest news out of the Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic-Con was the return of Robert Downey Jr. to the MCU as Doctor Doom. That was shocking in and of itself. Reunited with the returning Russo Brothers, who were confirmed to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, it felt like the band was getting back together. Well, now we know exactly how true that was, and how much it cost Marvel to make it happen.
According to a Variety piece, Downey’s condition for returning as Doctor Doom was that the Russo Brothers join him. They were a package deal, and Downey wouldn’t come back without the directors he worked with closely on Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.
And Marvel was willing to shell out the big bucks. To get the Russos to direct both Avengers films it will cost a reported $80M. Not only that, but Marvel was willing to do something rare and that’s give the Russos’ production company, AGBO, a producer credit. This is something Marvel also did recently for Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort label on Deadpool & Wolverine.
As for Downey, who was previously making around $50M for his Marvel appearances, he’s apparently earning “significantly more” than the Russos which should give you an idea how badly Marvel wanted him back. And who can blame them? Their most profitable years were with Downey in the fold, but will fans be as anxious to see him as the bad guy?
