Downey Is Back for 'Avengers' 2 and 3, and He Might Be a $100 Million Iron Man
All is well in the Marvel Cinematic Universe now that the company has announced that Robert Downey Jr. has signed on as Iron Man for two more Avengers movies. This was expected, but the contract didn't come without serious concerns over whether Downey would walk out over money. He didn't, so let's go ahead and assume he's getting a pretty gigantic payday.
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Downey, who apparently likes his bedroom windows looking into his rooftop pool and prefers a square toilet seat, has never exactly been shy about the cash he's gotten for donning Marvel's suit. He up and told GQ that he was paid $50 million for the first Avengers, and, yes, even gloated about it: "They're so pissed. I can't believe it. I'm what's known as 'a strategic cost." He likely made even more than that, considering The Avengers ended up becoming the third highest grossing film of all time, and the number is "was more like $70M-$80M now that the film is all in," Nikki Finke reported back in May. Downey is pretty high up on the list of the highest paid movie actors, but perhaps with this new deal he enters the Tom Cruise realm of $100 million.
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Marvel is known as "cheap," but according to Finke's sources Downey had leverage. So we can bet that he's getting the kind of money he wanted to come back for Avengers 2 (set for May 2015) and Avengers 3 after that. Downey apparently isn't signed on for anymore standalone Iron Man films.
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Marvel's announcement of Mr. Stark's return includes this promising nugget: in the coming weeks, the company will "reveal additional casting updates, new characters coming to Marvel movies and so much more." And that's where things get interesting. The other Avengers, like Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo, according to The Hollywood Reporter only made around $2 to $3 million with bonuses on the first film, practically pocket change when compared to Downey's haul. But probably enough to buy a few square toilet seats.
