Marvel Crew Members Outraged Over Robert Downey Jr.’s Outrageously High MCU Salary While They Are Barely Making Ends Meet

This year’s SDCC announced that Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the MCU but not as Iron Man, but rather as the new villain of Multiverse Saga, Doctor Doom. According to insider sources before the deal was complete several things had to be negotiated.

First and foremost Downey allegedly insisted that the Russo brothers were hired to direct ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ and the actor was due for a significant raise.

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. 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.’

Now these numbers aren’t all that shocking taking into account that RDJ is one of the highest-paid actors in the franchise, but as soon as this information was revealed to the public, Marvel Crew members decided to share their stories on social media, and it’s really something:

Scruggs was attacked personally on this thread claiming that he is no Robert Downey Jr. and that anybody could have done this job, but the artist repeatedly tried to explain that he does not ask for a $80 million salary, a liveable wage would suffice.

This news and discussions really come at a time when the SAG-AFTRA strike is still fresh in everyone’s minds, and it’s been an issue for at least a decade now that VFX and other types of artists that are actively involved with the production are being underpaid and overworked, the threat of replacement hanging over their heads nearly constantly.

CEOs of major studios like Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney often receive multi-million dollar salaries. For instance, figures such as David Zaslav and Bob Iger have been reported to earn between $30–$50 million annually, including bonuses and stock options.

Critics argue that these high salaries are disproportionate compared to the wages of average workers within the same companies. The pay disparity is often highlighted by comparing the CEOs’ earnings to the much lower salaries of lower-level employees, including those involved in production roles.

To top it all off, the bonuses are often “earned” by instigating mass layoffs within already understaffed departments thus saving the company some further money. This means that someone who works for an unliveable wage now has to work twice as hard to “pick up the slack” that layoffs have caused.

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