Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark was arguably the protagonist of the MCU and ultimately sacrificed his life to defeat Thanos. At the time of his final appearance, the Due Date alum was cashing a paycheck worth $75 million. Since the actor has moved on from the MCU, his earning from each film has dwarfed what his fellow Avengers stars are bringing in with their contracts.
Ever since Avengers: Endgame benched three of the six members of the original Avengers lineup (two of them, seemingly permanently), members of the team have found their place outside the MCU, taking up a varied range of roles. Downey comes out on top when it comes to the paychecks that are issued to these actors, even without taking into account Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans are close, but not quite at Robert Downey Jr.’s level
Robert Downey Jr.’s co-actors have received a tremendous amount of opportunities post their tenure in the MCU. Scarlett Johanson, who played Natasha Romanoff/ Black Widow in the MCU, remains one of the highest-paid female talent in the industry. The Black Widow alum has starred in the Oscar-nominated Marriage Story. Further, she starred in her Marvel solo film, which according to Cosmopolitan, got her a paycheck of $15 million.
Chris Evans, who played the role of Captain America/ Steve Rogers in the MCU, moved on to smaller projects on streaming platforms. The actor, according to Cosmopolitan, earned close to $40 million in 2019, of this, $15 million was out of Endgame. His Lightyear salary is stated to be around $10 million.
Also Read: Robert Downey Jr Has Reportedly Agreed to Return to MCU Following Endgame Death
Robert Downey Jr. made $20 million from his post-MCU project
Robert Downey Jr., according to Variety, earned only $4 million from the the Nolan film Oppenheimer, also starring Emily Blunt and Cillian Murphy, who earned $4 million and $5 million respectively. Downey has become a household name, which is reflected better in his Dolittle paycheck. Bringing in a whopping $20 million from the project, Downey earned more than what his co-workers did from similar projects. This figure is only matched by Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor in the franchise. The actor brought in $20 million for himself, according to Variety, through the sequel of his 2020 Netflix film, Extraction 2. The film was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, who worked with the Avengers cast on 3 separate occasions: Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame.
Among the remaining actors who still have a future in the MCU, Mark Ruffalo and Jeremy Renner are also raking in significant projects. Ruffalo most recently made a splash in the Ryan Reynolds-led The Adam Project for Netflix. Renner reprised his role on Disney+ for Hawkeye and is also a part of Mayor of Kingstown.
