Robert Downey Jr. and Marvel have finally reached an agreement and fans will be happy to hear that Downey Jr. will be reprising his role as Tony Stark/Iron Man in ‘The Avengers 2’ and ‘The Avengers 3’.
Talks between the two have been ongoing for several weeks now with Downey Jr. renegotiating his deal with Marvel. He reportedly received $50 million for his work on the first ‘Avengers’ film and while everyone thought it was a done deal for the actor to continue appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Downey Jr. surprised them all by not immediately signing on the dotted line. With the billions of dollars that Marvel has already received from the ‘Iron Man’ movies and ‘The Avengers’ at the box office alone, it’s not a surprise that Downey Jr. would want a bigger piece of the pie than what Marvel was offering. Add that to the fact that ‘Avengers 2’ director Joss Whedon has gone on record saying he wouldn’t want to do a sequel without the original Tony Stark, then you can see that Downey Jr. had some high powered support on his side.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Whedon proclaimed about Downey Jr.:
“He is Iron Man. He is Iron Man in the way that Sean Connery was James Bond. I have no intention of making ‘Avengers 2’ without him, nor do I think I’ll be called upon to do that. I don’t think it’s in my interest, Marvel’s interest, or his interest, and I think everything will be fine. But I know that this is Hollywood and you roll with things. You have to be ready for the unexpected. But I loved working with Robert, and everybody knows he embodied that role in a way no one else can.”
Marvel has been notoriously known for paying their actors rather frugally and threatening to sue or replace them if they wouldn’t play ball. While Downey Jr.’s pay was in the millions, his fellow Avengers received $200,000 each for the film. It’s being reported that Marvel is upping their pay to $500,000 with a $500,000 bonus once the film reaches $500 million at the box office for ‘Avengers 2’, which compared to the $5 million Chris Hemsworth received to play the Huntsman in ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’, can be seen as rather paltry.
While no details about the contract were given in Marvel’s statement, what was particularly absent was the mention of Downey Jr. starring in any more ‘Iron Man’ films. In an interview with EW, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige stated:
“I believe there will be a fourth Iron Man film and a fifth and a sixth and a 10th and a 20th. I see no reason why Tony Stark can’t be as evergreen as James Bond. Or Batman for that matter. Or Spider-Man. I think Iron Man is a character just like that.”
While there is no doubt that another actor can be cast as Iron Man, Downey has made an indelible mark as Tony Stark and has won the hearts of Marvel fans. At least we have the knowledge that see him and the suit in the next two ‘Avengers’ films if nothing else.
Marvel however, did indicate that they will be revealing additional casting news, new characters coming to Marvel movies, and more in coming weeks so keep checking back here on ScienceFiction.com for updates.
