Some Fans Stand in Defense of RDJ for Getting Paid More Than $90M for Dr. Doom Role: “Marvel is desperate to keep the flops away”

The news dropped a few weeks ago that Robert Downey Jr. is returning as Doctor Doom in the MCU. The reactions have been mixed primarily due to some fans feeling that Marvel Studios is jeopardizing Iron Man’s legacy due to casting RDJ as Doom. The other side feels like the story won’t make much sense by repeating the actor without at least acknowledging in-universe that they are played by the same actor.

We know that RDJ started negotiating his return at least a year ago. According to Variety, Marvel is paying $80 million for Anthony and Joe Russo to direct ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars,’ with significantly more for Robert Downey Jr. to play the villain Doctor Doom in both films. The Russos’ deal, which excludes back-end compensation, includes performance bonuses at the $750 million and $1 billion box office thresholds. Additionally, the Russos will produce the films through their AGBO banner, a departure from Marvel’s usual practice of keeping production in-house.

Robert Downey Jr.’s deal for his role as Doctor Doom includes perks such as private jet travel, dedicated security, and an extensive trailer setup and the actor will be paid $95M to return. It’s estimated that he has earned between $500 million and $600 million across four ‘Avengers’ movies, three ‘Iron Man’ films, and cameos in ‘The Incredible Hulk,’ ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ and ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming.’

The source that was involved with the dealmaking process also claimed that Robert Downey Jr. set up one condition for his return, he wanted the Russo brothers helming the movie, and that’s the only way he would have it.

Now this is a large sum of money, but it’s not like RDJ did not already prove, several times over that he brings in that box office money. His alleged paycheck has already stirred much controversy, and now it’s making rounds again, this time however plenty of fans are willing to defend the decision of such a great payout:

There are valid arguments on both sides of the debate, but we need to acknowledge as one fan stated already that this is not merely a deal, it’s an investment. It’s clear that the MCU has great expectations when it comes to the returns of two upcoming ‘Avengers’ movies.

You can easily make an argument that the studio is willing to pay out that much since there’s no way that RDJ-led movie is going to flop, like for example ‘The Marvels,‘ or ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.’

Having RDJ in the role basically ensures that your movie is going to pique some interest and perhaps draw crowds to theaters that have in the last few years, left the ranks of the fans.

What do you think about RDJ’s paycheck? Let us know in the comments below!

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