Terrence Howard Claims Robert Downey Jr. Owes Him $100 Million For “Iron Man” Recasting

ByJoseph Gibsonon October 19, 2022inArticles›Celebrity News

In the world of Hollywood movie stars, personal animosity can carry big financial consequences. Just look at the case of Terrence Howard , who famously starred in “Iron Man” opposite Robert Downey Jr ., when the latter was an unproven wild card yet to become one of the biggest (and highest paid) movie stars in the world. Howard stepped away from the franchise after the first movie and his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was taken over by Don Cheadle , and life went on happily ever after. Unless you pay attention to a few interviews given by Howard over the years, including one where he said that as he saw it, RDJ had cost him $100 million.

Howard’s exit from the “Iron Man” movies came down to money, and from his perspective, promises made by Marvel not being honored. The most detailed breakdown of the situation comes from a 2015 interview Howard gave with Rolling Stone. In it, Howard says that during casting of the first “Iron Man” movie, he took a pay cut of $1 million against his original offer of $3.5 million in order to ensure Downey could get the part that went on to become his signature role.

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Howard says his deal with Marvel included two additional sequels, but when it came time to make the follow-up to “Iron Man,” he says Marvel attempted to stiff him, offering him a mere fraction of the $5 million he was supposed to make for the second movie. Howard claims that he contacted Downey to try to get some help in return for the help he offered on the first movie:

“I called Robby and was like, ‘Look, man…’ Leaving messages with his assistants, called him at least 17 times that day and 21 the next and finally left a message saying, ‘Look, man, I need the help that I gave you.”

That help didn’t come, and ultimately the whole deal fell through, leading to Howard’s part being recast in multiple sequels and related projects – including an upcoming “Armor Wars” feature film that’s set to star Cheadle. In Howard’s version of events, that amounted to his “handing over” the franchise to Downey alone:

“Guess who got the millions I was supposed to get? He got the whole franchise, so I’ve actually given him $100 million, which ends up being a $100 million loss for me from me trying to look after somebody, but, you know, to this day I would do the same thing. It’s just my nature.”

If you accept Howard’s claim that he took a significant pay cut to get Downey into the role of Tony Stark, you can then follow the reasoning that all his success (and all those lucrative paychecks) that followed could be traced back to that decision. But Howard also said in an Andy Cohen interview two years after the Rolling Stone piece that the two were on good terms and were no longer feuding – burying a $100 million Stark Industries hatchet in the process!

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ByJoseph Gibsonon February 22, 2019inArticles›Entertainment

Marvel is preparing to debut its first big screen standalone female superhero next month, and there are a lot of eyes and ears on the project that come with their own pressures to get it right. They spent a reported $5 million to get Brie Larson to play Carol Danvers in Captain Marvel , which is a break from the company’s usual practice of getting stars fairly cheap for their first movies. How cheap? Take a look at what these five now mega-stars made in their first Marvel joints.

Chris Hemsworth: $150,000 in 2011 for Thor

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://vz.cnwimg.com/thumb-900x/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GettyImages-860803492.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Terrence Howard Claims Robert Downey Jr. Owes Him $100 Million For “Iron Man” Recasting - 2”>

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Chris Hemsworth may be a huge superstar now, earning about $15 million a picture since Thor’s most recent solo outing in Thor: Ragnarok, but when he was first cast as the Thunder God back in 2011, it was more for his ability to play the part than any name or face recognition. Talent is cheap compared to those qualities, so Marvel was able to secure him for just $150,000.

Robert Downey Jr: $500,000 in 2008 for Iron Man

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Even RDJ , whose continuing contract with Marvel has made him one of the very highest-paid movie stars of all time, was a cheap get for the studio, despite his long and illustrious Hollywood career up to that point. The film’s surprise blockbuster success and Downey’s continued involvement in Marvel’s “cinematic universe” since then has completely changed that, though, and now he can pull in $80 million for Avengers: Age of Ultron or $10 million for what’s basically a glorified cameo in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

Chris Evans : $1 Million in 2011 for Captain America: First Avenger

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://vz.cnwimg.com/thumb-900x/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GettyImages-515221632.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Terrence Howard Claims Robert Downey Jr. Owes Him $100 Million For “Iron Man” Recasting - 4”>

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Evans was quite a bit more famous than fellow Chris, Chris Hemsworth, when it came time for his superhero debut in 2011, and he got a seven-figure paycheck as a reflection of that. Now, they’re both sitting together at about $15 million a picture.

Chadwick Boseman: $2 Million in 2018 for Black Panther

<img loading=“lazy” src=“https://vz.cnwimg.com/thumb-900x/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/GettyImages-915847344.jpg" onerror=“this.onerror=null;this.src=‘https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhe7F7TRXHtjiKvHb5vS7DmnxvpHiDyoYyYvm1nHB3Qp2_w3BnM6A2eq4v7FYxCC9bfZt3a9vIMtAYEKUiaDQbHMg-ViyGmRIj39MLp0bGFfgfYw1Dc9q_H-T0wiTm3l0Uq42dETrN9eC8aGJ9_IORZsxST1AcLR7np1koOfcc7tnHa4S8Mwz_xD9d0=s16000';" alt=“Terrence Howard Claims Robert Downey Jr. Owes Him $100 Million For “Iron Man” Recasting - 5”>

Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Boseman did pretty well for himself last year, scoring a reported $2 million to play T’Challa in Black Panther. But now, following the massive commercial and cultural success of that film, he’s sure to make much more for the sequel.

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