Robert Downey Jr.’s transition from superhero to supervillain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will come with a staggering payday. It was recently announced that the actor, who starred as Tony Stark/Iron Man in three standalone movies and several Avengers installments, will instead portray Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
The pair of MCU blockbusters will be directed by Anthony Russo and Joseph Russo—aka the Russo brothers—who previously directed Downey as Iron Man in the uber-successful Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: End Game. According to an inside source speaking to Variety, Marvel is paying the Russo brothers $80 million to helm the double-feature.
Downey will receive “significantly more” from his deal, which also includes a private jet, a private security team and a “trailer encampment.” The Variety source added that Downey is by far the highest-paid MCU actor, having collected between $500 and $600 million since first stepping into Iron Man’s suit in 2008. The movie is widely credited with revitalizing his career and kickstarting the money-printing machine that is Marvel Studios.
Downey’s Doctor Doom announcement at Comic-Con was met with thunderous applause from attendees, but online reactions from fans and critics have been mixed. One X user called the decision “insanely badass,” another said it was “one of the worst and craziest castings of all time,” and the Cinema Tweets account wrote that the casting decision is indicative of a fading superhero genre.
But, as Yahoo points out, it’s the news of Downey’s salary that seems to have caused the most controversy among those with behind-the-scenes roles in Hollywood and their sympathizers. One of the most seen critics is Tyler Scruggs, who worked as a costume production assistant on the set of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and went viral on X for posting about how little he was paid for the project.
Downey’s first outing as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday is expected to arrive in May of 2026.