Marvel reportedly spent big to bring back Robert Downey Jr. and the Russo brothers

Marvel’s big plan to pull the MCU out of its multiversal tailspin became very clear this past weekend during San Diego Comic-Con as the studio announced that the Russo brothers are coming back to direct the next two Avengers films. While Avengers: The Kang Dynasty is out, Avengers: Doomsday is in, with Robert Downey Jr. signed on to play the central role. And it seems like Marvel is dropping a pretty penny to make this all happen.

Variety reports that Marvel is spending $80 million to lure the Russos back to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, the two films that will bring the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s ongoing Multiverse Saga to a close. Both films are also set to be produced by the Russo’s AGBO outfit rather than Marvel’s typical in-house production team and will reportedly begin shooting in London rather than Atlanta, Georgia, where Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame both filmed.

Marvel is also said to be spending “significantly more” on Downey’s payday to see him rejoin the MCU as Doctor Doom rather than Iron Man — a twist that has some comics precedent but also seems to be an emergency pivot in response to Marvel’s now-scrapped plans to go all in on Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror.

RDJ, whose performance as Tony Stark kicked off the MCU, has commanded sizable Marvel salaries in the past that spoke to the studio’s commitment to building the cinematic franchise around him. That approach paid off for Marvel in the MCU’s early days as the Infinity Saga films reliably broke box-office records. But it’s also part of how the studio has wound up in its current era of projects that feel devoid of properly cultivated gravitational centers.

Going back to the RDJ / Russo well could work out for Marvel, particularly if audiences are really just interested in seeing familiar faces. If Deadpool & Wolverine’s early box-office numbers are any indication, that seems to be the case. But as much money as Marvel is spending on its pivot to Doom, one hopes that the studio is also going to put out some good films that live up to all this hype.