The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a behemoth force that's constantly releasing content in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Both those of us who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order know that it had humble beginnings with the original Iron Man movie. Fans were hyped were it was revealed that Robert Downey Jr. was returning to the MCU as the villainous Doctor Doom, and he's reportedly getting a huge payday for his reappearance.
What we know about Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars are extremely limited, but it's thrilling to learn that RDJ would be back and working with The Russo Brothers for the upcoming Marvel movies. And per a new report by Forbes, the Oscar-winning actor may be making "upwards of $100 million" for coming back to the MCU. He might as well be Tony Stark IRL!
This reported sum is a huge payday for Robert Downey Jr., but it makes sense given his long history with the studio. He made a ton of money for Avengers: Endgame, including a take of the movie's box office, which became the highest grossing film of all time. And now that he's coming back with a Oscar in hand, he can negotiate for even more.
The timing of RDJ's return to the MCU may also have contributed to this big payday for Doctor Doom. Since Avengers: Endgame, the shared universe has struggled with a number of its titled. That includes The Marvels bombing at the box office, as well as the disappointing response to Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, and The Eternals. While Deadpool & Wolverine recently broke records at the box office, it make sense that Kevin Feige and company might want to bring back some of the OG's to help drum up excitement.
We're currently in the midst of the Multiverse Saga, which means that just about anything could happen in the MCU nowadays. We saw a number of wild cameos in Deadpool 3, and alternate universes and variants of characters are very much on the table. This is the macguffin that'll bring Robert Downey Jr. back, despite Tony's death in Endgame.
It'll be fascinating to see the characters we know come face to face with their old friend... who is in fact someone else entirely. Doctor Doom is villain usually associated with the Fantastic Four, which might be the way that the beloved quartet of heroes gets to crossover with the rest of the MCU after their own movie. There are countless questions about what comes next, but one thing that's clear is that RDJ is going to give another killer performance.
The next MCU movie hitting theaters is Captain America: Brave New World on February 14th. While we wait, check out the 2025 movie release dates.
