During the formative years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios had something of a reputation for being difficult to negotiate with and frequently offering low-paying contracts to actors they were interested in. But as the franchise’s popularity continued to grow, so did the paydays.
Robert Downey Jr. was paid $500,000 for starring in Iron Man, while co-star Terrence Howard walked away with three times as much, but fast forward a decade and Howard was nowhere to be seen while RDJ raked in $75 million for his farewell in Avengers: Endgame. When your movies are always among the highest-grossing of the year, then your stars will inevitably seek to be the highest-paid.
Brie Larson cashed in the hefty sum of $5 million for headlining Captain Marvel, which is the highest amount the studio have ever paid to someone for their first starring role in the MCU. However, with Carol Danvers’ solo debut bringing in over $1.1 billion globally and the title hero set to be positioned as one of the faces of the entire franchise and the next leader of the Avengers going forward, the 30 year-old was said to be asking for a bigger piece of the pie for future appearances.
We previously heard that Larson wanted equal pay to her male co-stars, more creative input over her solo franchise and top billing in any major crossover projects that she was set to appear in, and now we’ve heard from our sources – the same ones that told us Percy Jackson is being rebooted as a streaming series and Ahsoka Tano will appear in The Mandalorian, both of which were correct – that she’s gotten her wish. And while it isn’t quite a Robert Downey Jr.-type deal, Larson will indeed become more heavily involved in shaping Captain Marvel’s arc and figuring out how she fits into the larger story being told in Phase Four and beyond, and the next time the Avengers are assembled, it’ll be her name that appears first in the trailers and on the poster. She’ll also be getting the higher pay she was seeking.
While this will no doubt cause some controversy among the vocal minority that want her ousted completely, with Thor on his way out, Black Panther rumored to be getting replaced and Sony more than capable of pulling the plug on Spider-Man again in the future, Brie Larson‘s Carol Danvers is Marvel’s safest bet to lead the franchise into the future, and it appears that they’ll be compensating her as such.
