Los
Angeles:
The
Avengers
became
the
movie
with
the
third
biggest
box
office
in
history,
raking
in
more
than
$1.5
billion,
but
Marvel
Studios
is
not
sure
that
its
actors,
including
Robert
Downey
Jr.,
will
return
to
shoot
The
Avengers
2.
Downey,
who
is
not
under
contract
for
a
sequel,
is
the
chief
concern.
The
actor
earned
more
than
$50
million
for
The
Avengers,
according
to
Deadline,
and
in
fact
it
could
be
as
much
as
$80
million,
an
amount
similar
to
what
he
will
bank
following
the
success
of
Iron
Man
3,
almost
certain
to
top
$1
billion
in
ticket
sales.
According
to
The
Hollywood
Reporter,
the
48-year-old
Downey
took
time
at
a
big
dinner
of
well-wishers
at
Spago
restaurant
in
Beverly
Hills
May
6
to
talk
with
studio
execs,
in
an
attempt
to
establish
the
basis
of
a
new
contract
covering
Phases
2
and
3
of
The
Avengers.
Such
franchises
as
Batman,
Superman,
Spider-Man
and
even
James
Bond
have
have
remained
popular
even
when
the
actors
playing
them
have
been
switched,
but
The
Avengers
was
the
philosopher's
stone
of
Marvel's
success
and
the
studio
naturally
wants
to
give
it
continuity.
The
Avengers
2,
whose
production
is
scheduled
for
next
February,
has
an
expected
release
date
of
May
1,
2014,
while
The
Avengers
3
will
probably
screen
in
2017.