All’s not fair in love and “Avengers: Infinity War.”
At least that’s according to one time Marvel star Carrie Coon. The actress, known for HBO’s “The Leftovers,” appears in the third “Avengers” movie as Proxima Midnight. While her character didn’t get much screen time, Coon isn’t much interested in returning to the role.
That’s according to her husband, screenwriter Tracy Letts. He appeared on “The Big Picture” podcast to discuss the industry but he also dropped information as to why Coon never returned to the world of Marvel.
Not so Much a Hulk Sized Check
While discussing Coon’s appearance in “Infinity War,” Letts admits that neither he nor his wife has seen the movie. In fact, he appears to be confused by the idea of the character Proxima Midnight.
The most important detail comes when Letts says Marvel approached Coon to reprise her role. However, the actress took note of the popularity of the series and wanted to get her worth.
“I believe [Marvel] went to her for the second one and they asked her to be in the second one,” Letts mentions. “And she said, ‘Well, the first one is the most successful movie ever made. Are you going to pay me any more money?’”
“And they said, no, we’re not going to pay you any more money,” he adds. “And they said ‘Well, you should feel yourself fortunate to be part of the Marvel Universe.’ So she declined. But I think they put her in it anyway.”
“Avengers: Endgame” features the character of Proxima Midnight but Coon is given an uncredited voice credit.
“And she said ‘Well, you’re not going to pay me any more money. Then I don’t think I’m going to do it’” Letts says in the end.
Avengers: Disassembled
Coon spoke about the news herself during a conversation with Variety about a season 3 finale of “The White Lotus.”
The actress denounced the idea that she should be fortunate to be a part of the Marvel franchise.
“The lesson there is that my time is more valuable elsewhere,” Coon says using a metaphor about an employer paying an employee entry level wages.
“And so I part ways with this company, everybody amicably, because my time, especially as a person with a family, is more valuable than that. So it’s purely a business decision,” she adds.
Coon also finds that industry was still stuck in an age where women were valued as less than.
“I think that those comments are probably less sexist than they are just an indicator of where the movie industry was heading. IP was driving the industry at that time. Maybe we’re having a shift. Maybe we’re having a swing back,” Coon hopes. “I think people, operate under a tremendous misunderstanding about what we’re paid in those circumstances. I think if people knew, I think they’d be surprised, and wouldn’t be surprised at the decision I made.”