MarvelBlog News for August 4th, 2024
Well, we knew that the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con would include some bombshells.
I don’t think any Marvel fan was truly prepared for the one we got, though.
Source: by Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Shutterstock (10341985ce)
This is a jaw-dropping week of MarvelBlog News.
Meet Doctor Doom
Source: Marvel
Only five years after The Walt Disney Company told everyone who would listen that they would no longer pay big salaries, executives flinched.
Now, we’ve got a ballgame, as Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Photo: Forbes
We’re all surprised by the identity of the character he’ll portray, though.
Yes, as I mentioned at the end of MarvelBlog News last week, RDJ has come back to the MCU as…Doctor Doom.
Iron Man (2008). Photo: Marvel/Paramount/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock (5886260e)
Anybody who tells you that they saw this one coming is lying to your face.
This is a shocker somehow made possible by the indefensible actions of actor Jonathan Majors.
Source: Marvel
If the former portrayer of Kang hadn’t gotten himself fired from Marvel, we’d still be in that villain’s era.
Instead, Marvel has done what was rumored and swapped out Kang for Victor Von Doom.
I’d mentioned that as a possibility a few times, as that rumor has been out in the ether for a while.
The RDJ part…is new. Folks, Disney/Marvel just threw RDJ a bag overflowing with hundred-dollar bills.
Photo: Robert Downey Jr/Facebook
As previously discussed, that wasn’t the only big hiring, as the Russo Brothers have returned as well.
According to Variety, “Marvel is plunking down $80 million for Anthony and Joe Russo to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.”
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Dave Allocca/Starpix/Shutterstock (5633582aq)
Yes, that’s $20 million per brother per Avengers movie. And you shouldn’t have a problem with that.
If anything, this deal rewards the Russo Brothers for creating two of just a handful of movies ever to earn $2+ billion in box office.
Source: Deadline
Their Avengers work alone has already grossed $5 billion. So, $80 million for the duo to direct two more films feels like small potatoes.
The RDJ part of the conversation is…more interesting.
How Much Is Too Much?
Big Money Deals. Photo: Marvel
Marvel had a plan a few years ago, with Disney CEO Bob Iger’s fingerprints all over it.
Remember that Disney owns Marvel, and Iger was the one responsible for that purchase.
In Mephisto We Trust. Photo: Marvel Comics
He spent $4 billion to buy Marvel from Isaac Perlmutter, one of the best business transactions ever.
Iger believed that Marvel had become too big to fail. So, he bristled at the escalating salaries of the talent involved.
Photo: Marvel Studios
Specifically, RDJ had earned $75 million from Avengers: Endgame alone thanks to participation bonuses.
At the end of 2019, Marvel said goodbye to several Avengers as a way to introduce new, cheaper actors and save money.
Source: Marvel Studios
Well, we all know how that worked out. So, here we are. Disney washed its hands of the failed strategy and backed up the Brinks truck.
I should add that “a source close to the Russo Brothers disputes those figures.” So, some of the prices may have been exaggerated.
Source: Marvel Studios
Still, some perceive these deals as smacking of desperation. In fact, The Daily Beast offered an absurdly harsh take.
I won’t link that clickbait, but the headline says RDJ’s casting “proves Marvel is running on fumes.”
The estimable NPR states, “A puzzling match made in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. Doom.”
Their analysis includes this gem: ““Hey lookit they both got metal masks!”
He’s Doctor Doom, Y’All
Photo: Marvel Comics
This reception may not be as glowing as Marvel/Disney had hoped, but it’s accomplished an essential goal.
People are talking about Marvel as a buzzy topic again rather than one worthy of mocking.
I mean, there’s definitely some of that, but Marvel must have expected at least a bit of negativity for what is blatant stunt casting.
They won’t care when the next two Avengers movies earn at least another $4 billion, though.
Source: Marvel Studios
Similarly, depending on how this plays out, Fantastic Four could benefit as well.
Thus far, I’ve focused on the larger implications and the ginormous salaries, but let’s not overlook the story.
Source: Marvel
Doctor Doom is one of the greatest Marvel villains ever. More importantly, he’s the archvillain of the Fantastic Four.
On a not-at-all coincidental note, Fantastic Four debuts in theaters next year, followed by Avengers: Doomsday ten months later.
Source: Marvel
As such, speculation immediately ensued that RDJ would appear in Fantastic Four, which would spike its box office potential.
Presuming that happens – even though it’s a big if – Marvel elevates Fantastic Four and two Avengers movies with RDJ’s return.
Source: Marvel
That’s worth any amount of money, right? Plus, the storytelling potential is spectacular.
We already knew that Fantastic Four would involve an alternate universe.
Image: Marvel
So, what will happen when the Avengers meet a villain with the face of their friend?
And will a young, super-talented garage tinkerer help build Doctor Doom armor using cave scraps?
Photo: @samuel_cheve
Can’t you easily envision a moment like Ant-Man’s reunion with his daughter?
This time, a pre-teen girl would tell a villain from another world that she loves him 3,000. Isn’t your heart melting?
Source: Marvel Studios
I realize that there’s a lot of negativity regarding this move, but I view it as a masterstroke.
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