At San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), Marvel made waves by announcing Avengers: Doomsday will feature the return of Robert Downey Jr. It will cost Marvel Studios and Disney, though.
Variety is reporting on how the return came together. First, Downey will be getting “significantly more” than the Russo brothers' $80 million payday. He would only reportedly return under the condition of the Russos coming back as well.
“They were the only ones he would work with,” a source told Variety.
The Russo brothers were the filmmaking duo who handled Downey's previous character's (Tony Stark/Iron Man) death. It appears he trusts them to bring him back in a way that does not tarnish Endgame's legacy.
Making returns to iconic comic book movie roles has become a common thing in Hollywood. In 2023, Michael Keaton returned as Batman in The Flash. Hugh Jackman just reprised his role of Wolverine for the third Deadpool. Now, Downey will take on a new role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Who is Robert Downey Jr playing in Avengers: Doomsday?
In Avengers: Doomsday, Downey will be playing Doctor Doom, the movie's antagonist. He will also appear in the follow-up, Secret Wars, the following year in 2027.
This is a far cry from being the anchor of Marvel movies. Downey was the driving force behind the MCU since Iron Man came out in 2008. He led four Avengers movies and appeared in other heroes' movies, such as Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
There is also a chance Downey could play a variant of Tony Stark/Iron Man in one of the upcoming Avengers movies. After all, Marvel has been toying with the multiverse for years, and having Iron Man square off with Downey's Doctor Doom could be epic.
The Russo brothers are known for their Marvel movies. They made their debut directing Captain America: The Winter Soldier. They followed that up with Civil War in 2016.
From there, the Russos directed two Avengers movies — Infinity War and Endgame. They are two of the highest-grossing movies ever and have made nearly $5 billion worldwide.
Robert Downey Jr movies
Before his Avengers: Doomsday return, Robert Downey Jr is coming off his first Oscar win. He took home Best Supporting Actor at the 2024 Academy Awards ceremony for his performance in Oppenheimer. This was his first win after two prior Oscar-nominated performances in Chaplin and Tropic Thunder.
Early in his career, Downey gained notoriety for his work with the Brat Pack. He appeared in Weird Science and Less than Zero with the group.
After his Oscar-nominated work in Chaplin, Downey starred in Natural Born Killers, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Zodiac. Iron Man and Marvel helped resurrect Downey's career beginning in 2008.
While starring in the MCU, Downey also had roles in Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes series, The Judge, and Chef. After Endgame, Downey's first role was in Dolittle, which he also executive produced.
He also starred in Park Chan-wook's The Sympathizer for HBO. Downey had several roles in the series and also executive-produced it.
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