Marvel crew member shares how much he was paid as he reacts to Robert Downey Jr's mammoth salary

A former Marvel crew member has spoken out about not being able to meet their 'basic needs' with what they were paid in response to the news of Robert Downey Jr.'s alleged pay for his return to the MCU.

At San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), it was revealed Robert Downey Jr. is returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), not as Iron Man but as Dr Doom instead in the upcoming Fantastic Four film.

And the 59-year-old's return has reportedly come with certain specifications and a hefty pay package too.

In order to secure the actor's return, it's reported by Variety Marvel had to make sure directors the Russo brothers, Antony and Joe - who directed Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame - were on board to return too.

"They were the only ones he would work with," a source said.

Sources also told Variety Marvel is allegedly having to cough up $80 million for the pair to direct with Downey Jr.'s pay expected to be 'significantly more'.

And a man who claims to have worked as a member of crew on a previous Marvel production has since taken to Twitter to respond to news of the pay package.

Robert Downey Jr was revealed as returning to the MCU (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

Sharing Variety's article about Downey Jr.'s alleged pay package, Tyler Scruggs tweeted yesterday (30 July): "I will repeat it until I'm blue in the face... I made $12.50 an hour working 70+ hours a week on Black Panther Wakanda Forever... went up to $14 on Blade v1.0..."

Scruggs added: "OH YEAR WE WON THE OSCAR TOO."

Another user replied: "12.50!?! I was making 10! Lmao"

A third added: "That is insane. I was a freelance vfx artist for about five years. I’m just gonna blanket say that any below the line work is thankless to some degree. But this pay is truly f**king crazy."

And Scruggs responded: "Exactly like I know how this works but I could not meet basic needs and had literally 0 time for anything but Marvel."

However, not everyone shared the same sentiment.

Tyler Scruggs said he was paid $12.50 an hour while working on Black Panther Wakanda Forever (X/ @tylerscruggs)

One user noted: "Underpaid for sure but probably not the best comparison."

And a second added: "Hey dude. Newsflash. You aren’t Robert Downey Jr. Keep PAing and work your way up the ladder like everyone else. Thinking you are untitled to anything in the film business will get you about as far as being a costume PA."

Although, Scruggs swiftly replied: "I didn’t know I wasn’t Robert Downey Jr… or even untitled to anything… you’ve given me a lot to think about. I hope you win those football tailgate tickets."

UNILAD has contacted Marvel for comment.