Big name actors don’t come cheap, but when it involves the single most lucrative franchise in the history of cinema, everyone tends to go home happy in the end. Marvel Studios used to have a certain level of infamy when it came to low-balling their actors, but as the company’s shared cinematic universe continued to grow, the paychecks steadily rose.
Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. were reportedly paid $150,000, $300,000 and $500,000 each for their respective debuts as Thor, Captain America and Iron Man, but fast forward a decade to Avengers: Endgame becoming the highest-grossing movie of all-time, and the trio walked away with a combined total of close to $150 million when bonuses and profit participation clauses kicked in.
Ryan Reynolds, meanwhile, is already one of the most well-compensated names in the business having picked up at least $20 million each for Netflix trio 6 Underground, Red Notice and The Adam Project, but insider Daniel Richtman is claiming that there’s a pay dispute brewing behind the scenes in regards to Deadpool 3, with the star asking for more money than Disney are willing to pay him.
Richtman previously reported that Reynolds was netting $20 million for Deadpool 3 and $30 million for Deadpool 4, so the tipster’s latest intel naturally invites questions as to how high his demands are supposed to be going. Marvel have never paid any of their talents more than $40 million upfront, after all, and that number pertains exclusively to Robert Downey Jr. for Captain America: Civil War. Then again, perhaps Richtman is simply referring to some sort of profit participation deal.
In any case, given that Reynolds pocketed $2 million for Deadpool 2 but ultimately earned almost ten times as much when the sequel raced to $785 million at the box office, it stands to reason that the Merc with a Mouth’s MCU debut will see him rewarded with more than a pretty penny, especially if he retains a producing credit as well. Besides, surely some kind of financial package will be agreed upon shortly given that Deadpool 3 is well into active development already.