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After a rocky year, Marvel is going back to the same things that worked in the past. That means reuniting with the franchise’s crown jewel, Robert Downey Jr., as well as the Russo brothers, who directed the studio’s two most successful films: “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.”

But bringing back key members of the old gang won’t be cheap. Sources say Marvel is shelling out $80 million for Anthony and Joe Russo to direct “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars” and “significantly more” for Downey to take on supervillain Doctor Doom in the two major productions. The Russos’ deal doesn’t include final compensation, but it does contain performance escalators that kick in at the $750 million and $1 billion thresholds. The brothers will also produce the two films through their AGBO label. That marks a departure for Marvel, which typically doesn’t work with outside producers and prefers to keep the team in-house.

For Downey, who helped catapult Marvel into a money-making machine thanks to his role as Tony Stark in the first “Iron Man” film in 2008, his contract is also packed with perks that include private jet travel, dedicated security and an entire “trailer camp” for the newly Oscar-winning actor. (Downey took home this year’s best supporting actor award for his role in “Oppenheimer.”)

According to a knowledgeable source, Downey is by far the highest-paid member of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and has earned between $500 million and $600 million over the course of four “Avengers” films, three “Iron Man” outings and cameos in “The Incredible Hulk,” “Captain America: Civil War” and “Spider-Man: Homecoming.”

However, some changes need to be made. While the Russo brothers’ two previous Avengers films were filmed in Atlanta, the new films will be shot in London starting in the second quarter of 2025.

Though Marvel had become the most dominant brand in cinema over its first 30 films, it began to show cracks in 2023, with a lackluster “Ant-Man” sequel that grossed just $476 million worldwide, along with a disastrous “The Marvels,” which barely cracked the $200 million mark globally. Adding to the angst at the Burbank studio, the entire “Avengers” arc focusing on the villain Kang had to be scrapped amid actor Jonathan Majors’ legal troubles. (Marvel’s parent company, Disney, cut ties with Majors hours after he was convicted of assault and harassment following an altercation with his then-girlfriend.) Before long, director Destin Daniel Cretton dropped out of “Avengers: Kang Dynasty.”

Variety It was previously reported in a cover story about the studio’s troubles that Marvel was considering switching from Kang to Doctor Doom as Majors’ problems mounted and that boss Kevin Feige was eager to bring back Downey, who will move from his Broadway debut in Ayad Akhtar’s “McNeal” in the fall to pre-production on “Avengers” in the new year.

According to sources, Downey, who is represented by WME, agreed to return to the MCU if the Russos, who are clients of CAA, directed the film. “They were the only ones I would work with,” says a source familiar with the agreement.

After all, the brothers’ two “Avengers” films grossed a whopping $4.851 billion combined. As Marvel looks to regain its footing, a new collaboration between Downey and the Russos is “a perfect combination of timing and everyone being on the same page,” says an executive close to the project.