Robert Downey Jr.: His Perks For Doing The ‘Avengers’ Movies Are Insane

Marvel is cutting some big checks to bring back Robert Downey Jr. and The Russo Brothers. The team worked wonders together before. Now, can they repeat similar success?

Marvel shocked the world when they unveiled Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. Doom in the upcoming Avengers movies, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. The San Diego Comic-Con crowd erupted when RDJ removed the mask, revealing himself as the supervillain. Hopefully the audience's excitement can lead to putting bodies in seats when the movie comes out because Marvel is investing some serious capital into the collaborators.

It looks like Marvel might be learning from its mistakes and sticking to what it knows works. After a couple of rough years, they'll be returning to their glory days by reuniting Robert Downey Jr. and The Russo Brothers, Anthony and Joe, for a couple of new Avengers movies. The brothers directed the two most successful movies for the studio with Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: End Game which grossed nearly $5 billion combined, per Box Office Mojo.

However, trying to replicate that success is not going to be cheap. According to Variety, Marvel will be paying the Russo Brothers $80 million to direct the new two Avengers movies and will reportedly be paying Robert Downey Jr. "significantly more." Variety reports that the brothers' deal will not include back-end compensation but will have performance escalators at the $750 million and $1 billion thresholds. That sounds like an unbelievable deal--until you hear more about RDJ's.

Not only is Downey's pay rumored to be in the 9-figure range, he's reportedly got some sweet perks that come along with it. Variety reports that Downey Jr.'s deal also includes private jet travel, a dedicated security team, and a "trailer encampment." You can't say he didn't earn it! He helped turn Marvel Studios into the giant it is today starting when he starred as Tony Stark in Iron Man in 2008. He went on to star in two more Iron Man movies, four Avengers movies, and had supporting roles and cameos in several other Marvel movies. Additionally, he's fresh off a win at the Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Lewis Strauss in Oppenheimer, which would go on to win Best Picture.

It's already been a monumental year for Downey, who was also recently nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for his portrayal of several characters on HBO's The Sympathizer. Winning both an Oscar and an Emmy in the same year would put him in some elite company. This Marvel deal is just the cherry on top of a historical year for one of the best actors working today. The new movies are expected to begin filming in the Spring of 2025.

Good things come to those who wait. Thankfully, all of our patience is going to pay off this year. There are some fantastic movies coming out this year, and we can't wait! There are new originals, new sequels, and everywhere in between! Here are 5 of the most anticipated movies in 2024.

Admittedly, one of the most anticipated movies of 2024 has already been released, Dune: Part Two. It seems like it was worth the wait as it currently has a score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes! However, there are many more blockbusters coming out this year that are sure to be great!

It was hard to pick only 5 of the most anticipated movies of 2024. Personally, I had to put some biases aside to find the 5 that most people are looking forward to. Honestly, not all of these movies excite me. I'm hard to please! However, I'm confident that most of us are eagerly anticipating most of these movies, and might already have some dates circled on the calendar.

Of course, by only picking 5 movies, I'm leaving some great ones off the list. So, let's consider these to be Honorable Mentions. These are some of the movies I, personally, can't wait to see this year in theatres.

First, there's Ballerina starring Ana de Armas. If you know me, you know I love Ana de Armas. She can truly do no wrong. Anything I've seen her in, she's completely stolen the show. I was disappointed by her lack of major screen time in No Time To Die, I thought she deserved to be the Bond Girl. Thankfully, she'll have her chance for redemption in Ballerina. It's Lionsgate's first spinoff to the John Wick series, and is set between the third and fourth films. Keanu Reeves is set to make an appearance in the movie, per Men's Health. The movie hits theatres June 7th.

Additionally, there's The Watchers, which is the feature directorial debut of Ishana Night Shyamalan, daughter of M. Night. That comes out June 7th, as well. There's also Inside Out 2 (June 14), The Bikeriders with Austin Butler and Tom Hardy (June 21), A Quiet Place: Day 1 (June 28), Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga (June 28), and more! Of course, we're also getting Beetlejuice 2 (September 6) and the new Joker movie (October 4). So, lots to look forward to this year!

So, which 5 do I think will be huge draws in the box office? Let's dive in!

The concept seems interesting. The United States is at war with itself. Somehow, in this world, California and Texas have allied, which I could never see happening. It stars Kirsten Dunst, Nick Offerman, and Cailee Spaeny. Jesse Plemons is also in the movie. It's directed by Alex Garland and comes out April 26th.

It's the Barbenheimer collab we've been waiting for! Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt get together for The Fall Guy which will be released on May 3rd. In the movie, Gosling plays a stuntman who gets roped into a big-budget adventure. There should be action and laughs in this one. I'm excited.

Speaking of great movies, Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the best we've gotten in decades. Now, we get the much anticipated sequel this year. The film is set prior to Fury Road and follows a younger Furiosa, who was played by Charlize Theron in the previous movie. It stars Chris Hemsworth as the bad guy, and is sure to be outstanding. The movie hits theatres on May 24th.

This is the collaboration we've been waiting for! We finally get Deadpool and Wolverine together. Ryan Reynolds got his wish. Expect plenty of jokes and references regarding the move from Fox's X-Men universe to Disney's MCU. We've been waiting a long time and it's finally happening. The wait ends July 26th. There's no way it can let us down, right?...right?!

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say Gladiator was one of the best movies of all-time. Finally, we get the follow-up to the amazing tale. The movie will star Paul Mescal in the lead role, as the grown-up version of Lucius. Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn, of Stranger Things, will also star in the movie. It comes to theatres on November 22nd.