Walt Disney (DIS +0.15%) has locked down superstar Robert Downey Jr. for another two helpings of Avengers. Downey's presence all but guarantees that the blockbuster franchise will continue to churn out several more billion-dollar megahits. The $4 billion Marvel acquisition is starting to look downright prescient these days.
The Downey deal is also great news for Netflix (NFLX +0.14%), because both of these guaranteed silver-screen winners will fall in the window in which Netflix owns the premium release rights for every Disney, Marvel, and Lucasfilm movie.
Robert Downey Jr. is an expensive asset for Disney, but he's worth every last penny. Between Iron Man 3 and the first Avengers title, he's helped Disney collect $2.7 billion in global box office receipts. In the video below, Fool contributor Anders Bylund talks about the game-changing impact Downey has made on Disney's bottom line, and why investors should breathe a sigh of relief now that his new contract is written in stone.
