Marvel Studios renegotiating with Robert Downey, Jr.

With the release of Iron Man 3, Robert Downey, Jr's lengthy contract with Marvel Studios finally ended. Now the media giant is renegotiating terms with the star at the center of its largest franchise. With the stars across The Avengers becoming increasingly famous and increasingly expensive to hire, can Disney afford to continue the franchise?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Downey met earlier this week with a slew of Marvel Studios big wigs to reach new terms. It seems to be agreed upon that Downey's Iron Man is the center piece to the pantheon of characters that make up The Avengers franchise. While Captain America and Thor films do well, they do not begin to compete with the blockbuster status of any of the three Iron Man films.

The report indicates that after the original Iron Man film did surprisingly well, Downey entered into a pleasing agreement which has lasted until the end of Iron Man 3. The next movie supposed to include Iron Man is The Avengers 2 which is set for a May 1st, 2015 release. It is unclear if an agreement has been reached between the parties. But it is clear that Downey's continued portrayal of Tony Stark will be expensive.

Deadline reports on a more endemic problem as Marvel continues Phase 2 of their cinematic universe. While producers are already stoking the flames for Avengers 2, many of the stars are not locked in for the film. And locking them in will be an expensive endeavor which could prove to make the movie almost impossible to net profits from.

Deadline reports that Marvel claimed The Avengers would require a $1.1 billion gross in order to become profitable. And that was back when most of the stars were taking relatively small amounts of cash to play superhero. That number may climb astronomically after renegotiation with Downey, Chris Evans (Captain America), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), and other recurring actors.

Marvel Studios is stuck over the fire on much of these negotiations, but they have replaced actors before. The Hollywood Reporter recalled the character of James Rhodes shifting actors between Iron Man and Iron Man 2. Deadline recounted that the Hulk has seen three actors in the three modern interpretations of the character. But would The Avengers be the same without Downey?