Marvel Hopes Flops Stop After Pricey Re-Hiring of Franchise Legends
By Movieguide® Contributor
After a series of fails, Marvel is reigning in some key players who have helped with former successes — Robert Downey Jr. and the Russo brothers, who directed AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR and AVENGERS: ENDGAME.
“But bringing back key members of the old gang won’t come cheap,” Variety reported. “Sources say Marvel is plunking down $80 million for Anthony and Joe Russo to direct AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY and AVENGERS: SECRET WARS and ‘significantly more’ for Downey to tackle uber-villain Doctor Doom in the two tentpoles. The Russos’ deal doesn’t include back-end compensation, but it does contain performance escalators that kick in at the $750 million and $1 billion thresholds.”
“A source close to the production disputes those figures and claims the Russo’s paydays are lower. The brothers also will produce the two films via their AGBO banner. That marks something of a departure for Marvel, which typically doesn’t work with outside producers, preferring to keep the team in house,” Variety said.
Movieguide® reported July 19:
A source told Deadline, “Joe and Anthony Russo are being brought into the fold at Marvel Studios on various fronts with one of their first big priorities being the upcoming AVENGERS sequels at the studio. Talks for the pair to direct those films are still in early stages, but the plan would be for them to be involved in both films.”
The brothers would likely be directing the fifth AVENGERS film — previously AVENGERS: THE KANG DYNASTY but currently untitled — and AVENGERS: SECRET WARS.
If being the highest-paid Marvel member wasn’t enough leverage, Downey’s deal also includes private jet travel, security and a “trailer encampment.”
He “has pulled down between $500 million and $600 million over the course of four AVENGERS movies, three IRON MAN outings and cameos in THE INCREDIBLE HULK, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR and SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING,” Variety said.
The new movies will film in London in 2025.
Variety reported, “Sources say Downey, who is repped by WME, agreed to return to the MCU if the Russos, who are CAA clients, would be directing. ‘They were the only ones he would work with,’ says a source familiar with the dealmaking.”
“After all, the brothers’ two AVENGERS movies earned a whopping $4.851 billion combined,” Variety continued. “As Marvel looks to regain its footing, a Downey/Russos reteaming is ‘a perfect combination of timing and everyone being on the same page,’ says one executive close to the project.”
Another Variety article claims that Downey’s success in Marvel’s IRON MAN movies brought profitability to his other movies, like DUE DATE and the SHERLOCK HOLMES franchise.
Since Marvel has had enormous success with him before, the studio is thinking it might work again.
“IRON MAN didn’t just kick off a massive film franchise; it completed a full-scale comeback for Downey, who’d climbed his way out of career purgatory and struggles with addiction. A man who, by the mid-2010s, appeared to be a blue-chip movie star had, upon IRON MAN’s release, been the risky choice,” Variety said.
Per NBC, some fans aren’t happy with Downey’s Marvel reprisal. Some speculate that his casting was “done strictly for fan service” while many fans would have preferred to see an unfamiliar face. Others called it another “desperate” move by Marvel.
