Robert Downey Jr. 'on the verge' of deal to star in Captain America 3
The Iron Man star reportedly demanded bigger role in Marvel's third Captain America movie
Robert Downey Jr. is in negotiations to revive his role as Iron Man in Captain America 3 according to a report in Variety.
The magazine reports that the actor is "on the verge of signing" a contract to appear as billionaire Tony Stark in the third instalment of the Marvel franchise.
Chris Evans is already set to reprise his role as Captain America in the movie, which is slated for a spring 2016 release.
Capitalizing on the Captain
Judging by a teaser image tweeted by Marvel on Monday, the comic publisher is also ready to revive the comic book story line ahead of the movie Captain America 3.
The image shows Iron Man and Captain America playing tug-of-war with Spider-Man, who is in his Iron Spider suit.
Downey demanded bigger role
The deal with Downey was fraught with difficulty, according to Variety.
Originally, Iron Man played only a minor part in the new Captain America plot, but Downey is said to have demanded a bigger role, and a significantly larger pay cheque, angering the brass at Marvel Entertainment.
Further negotiations, however, appeared to have appeased Marvel, who are reportedly seeking to capitalize on the franchise by "extending the life of the Marvel characters over many years," said Variety.
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Downey, who holds the title as the highest paid actor in Hollywood, is said to have have negotiated a $40 million pay cheque for Captain America 3. The 49-year-old earned an estimated $75 million dollars last year for Iron Man 3 and The Avengers.