Robert Downey Jr. Demanding $80 Million Payday For 'Avengers' Return As Jonathan Majors Urges Iron Man's Comeback
Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man payday has jumped from $500,000 to a whopping $75 million for 2019's Avengers: Endgame. Including lucrative back-end deals, the 57-year-old has amassed a reported $435 million, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Now, with producers hoping for the Marvel hero to return in the 2026-planned Avengers: Secret Wars, rumor is, the actor wants them to pony up $80 million plus a stake in the film's profits.
"Robert is a businessman and only asks for what he considers proportionate to what he's offering," an insider shared. "He and his people know he's integral to the franchise."
Not that the studio won't push back.
"The rule with any Marvel Studios project that has Robert in it is that it will take forever to make the deals," spilled the insider, adding that negotiations have already begun.
Superfans can expect good — or bad — news this summer.
"If this deal can close in less than six months," said the source, "Marvel has a good shot at announcing it at San Diego Comic Con in July." Fans and producers aren't the only ones who want to see Robert back in the Marvel family.
Jonathan Majors — who landed the role of villain Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania — recently revealed he wants to share the screen with Robert.
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“So Kang Dynasty – I can’t even think about it because I’m so excited about [Quantumania] – but Kang Dynasty feels to me that it has the potential to grow the mythology of Kang, to grow the curiosity of Kang that much more, which is extremely exciting,” he recently told Lifehacker Australia.
“This is like a Robert Downey Jr. day, he just keeps popping in [to my head],” Majors continued. “Like, I know he’s an OG. I mean, he’s one of the originals. I’m just such a huge fan of him as an actor. I think what he did with Iron Man was such a gift to the culture at large.”
Major said he's hoping Iron Man and Kang face off.
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“I would love to be across from him on screen to see how our philosophies, acting-wise and character-wise, just personally, match up. You know, I find him to be such a fascinating artist, which is why Iron Man is so fascinating. His portrayal of Iron Man is so fascinating and he represents a very clear world view and energy of the Avengers. And I think Kang represents a different era," he shared.
RadarOnline.com has reached out to Robert's rep for comment.