Iron Man 3 star Robert Downey, Jr. has entered negotiations to reprise his role in Avengers 2, and perhaps beyond, according to Hollywood Reporter.  Downey has been making incredible amounts of money doing the Marvel movies.  He confirmed to GQ that with the back end deal he signed after the first Iron Man film, he made over $50 million for The Avengers (see "Downey Jr.'s Cut Dwarfs Other Avengers' Take").  He may make in that range for Iron Man 3 as well when the results are tallied. 

So the stakes are high.  Marvel has at times pushed back against stars that wanted big money, dumping Terrence Howard and replacing him with Don Cheadle, and keeping pay low for big stars Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson.  But none of those were as central to Marvel’s film prospects as Downey, Jr., who has been in some of the most successful movies in history. 

And beyond Avengers 2 is Phase 3, another series of movies leading to Avengers 3.   The amounts of money, both for the box office takes of upcoming Marvel movies and for Downey’s potential compensation, are staggering. 

Are Disney and Ike Perlmutter, the penurious Marvel CEO, willing to put up the big bucks to keep the money train running?  The outcome of Downey’s negotiations will determine the future direction of Marvel’s films, so the answer to that question is very important to Marvel’s prospects.