Not even Jeremy Renner knew about his friend and fellow actor Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Downey, 59 — who formerly played Iron Man — appeared at San Diego Comic Con on Saturday, July 27, to share the news of his role as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday.
Speaking with Us Weekly this week, the 53-year-old Mayor of Kingstown star said, ‘I had no idea,’ adding lightheartedly, ‘This son of a bitch didn’t say anything to me, and we’re good friends.’
Upon hearing the big news, Renner said he ‘started blowing up [Downey’s] phone’ in their Avengers group chat with Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, and Mark Ruffalo.
He shared, ‘I’m like, “What’s going on? Are you hiding this from us?” I don’t know. That’s exciting news, man. I’m really, really excited about it.’
Jeremy Renner says he knew nothing about his friend and fellow actor Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe; pictured in May
Downey, 59 appeared at San Diego Comic Con on Saturday, July 27, to share the news of his role as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday
For his part, Jeremy previously played Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
When asked if Downey Jr.’s return could make for the possibility of his revival of the role, the father-of-one gave an ambiguous answer.
‘It seems the Avenger movies have always been really fan favorites and there’s so many wonderful characters in them,’ he noted.
Then he said: ‘I think it’s going to be challenging to get everybody together. I think they’re going to probably have to piece it together like week-by-week, just for people’s schedules.’
Director duo Anthony and Joseph Russo are set to helm the next to Avengers — Doomsday and Secret Wars.
Jeremy teased, ‘I’m excited about it. We’ll see. I think we’ll probably be doing it.’
The Hollywood vet added, ‘We’ll have to figure it out. It’s all brand new. It all just happened. They just made the announcement, so I guess we got to start figuring it all out.’
Robert is on track to become the highest paid movie actor of all time, with his latest role earning him ‘significantly more’ than $79 million
Downey Jr. formerly played Iron Man; pictured in 2008
Jeremy previously played Hawkeye in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Robert is on track to become the highest paid movie actor of all time, with his latest role earning him ‘significantly more’ than $79 million
Further payouts are expected from ‘performance escalators,’ which will give him a portion of box office revenue.
Other perks in Downey Jr’s contract include private jet travel, dedicated security and a ‘trailer encampment.’
His pay will eclipse the salaries of Bruce Willis in Sixth Sense, Tom Cruise in the Top Gun reboot, and Will Smith in Men in Black 3.
Downey Jr. is the highest paid member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, having earned a collective $500 million as Tony Stark’s Iron Man in four Avengers movies, three Iron Man outings and cameos in The Incredible Hulk, Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
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