Robert Downey Jr. needs no introduction, the man who single-handedly took on the MCU, the sole reason why Marvel Studios was able to build a multi-billion dollar franchise. It was quite heartbreaking for everyone when he had to take his exit from the franchise after his character died in Avengers: Endgame. Well, it was a part and parcel of the contract he agreed upon when signing with MCU, but boy was it tough.
Tears rolling down like fountains, and heartbreaks no relationship can give you. It marked the end of a great golden era of utter bliss. RDJ was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood striking his name among the 100 most influential people in the world. But it was not always like this, although he debuted at the age of five, he experienced his fair share of ups and downs in the entertainment industry.
Robert Downey Jr. Had the Urge to Star in a Major Franchise
Robert Downey Jr. has been the man of the industry for a very long time, ever since his first solo with MCU came out, he has been carrying the franchise over his shoulders. Iron Man literally saved the franchise from being taken over, and now, no existing franchise can topple the amount of attention MCU pulls with their movies. Downey worked his way through countless failures and blockbusters, but it was not until he watched Keanu Reeves’ The Matrix, that he wanted to star in a franchise, well, he definitely worked his way to and through a franchise.
“When Tobey Maguire and I were doing Wonder Boys, we went to see The Matrix, and that was a big deal. I’ve known Keanu for ages. I watched the whole thing happen for him.
Then I saw Tobey with his whole Spider-Man thing. And then I saw, in a different way, what Johnny did with the whole Pirates thing […] I just thought it would be really fun not just to get to do this, or maybe a couple of these.”
During an interview, RDJ stated that he has long wanted to indulge himself with a franchise, have his own blockbuster movies and turn it into a global sensation. He further added that it was not until he saw movies from the franchises like The Matrix, Spider-Man, and Pirates of the Caribbean that he was totally into franchise roles. Well, who knew that he would go on to star as the most fan-favorite and loved superhero of all time? Even making a grown man cry after he departed from the franchise with only three solo movies, and millions of dollars under his belt.
Robery Downey Jr.’s Franchise Inspirations
The Matrix franchise has four movies to their name, The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, and the most recent The Matrix Resurrections and they have almost $1.8 billion to their name from all the box office collections after being released worldwide. The movies have an overall budget of around $555 million and are regarded as one of the most praiseworthy franchises of all time.
Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man franchise ran for three movies and it was the first time the character was brought onto the big screen. Fans absolutely loved it, moreover, the franchise collected over a staggering $2.5 billion from its box office collections with an accumulated budget of $600 million. The franchise won an Oscar among countless other awards and accolades.
The Pirates of the Caribbean franchise is one of the most successful franchises out there, with just five movies, the series earned a staggering amount of $4.5 billion from its box office after it was released worldwide. Although it had quite a high budget of around $1.3 billion, the franchise was the first to produce multiple billion-dollar movies. According to recent news, the script for Pirates of the Caribbean 6 is still under development.
Source: YouTube
