The Hollywood Reporter brings word today that acclaimed and embattled actor Robert Downey Jr. has been cast as the lead in Iron Man, director Jon Favreau’s adaptation of the Marvel Comics superhero property. Downey reportedly worked out hard to get in shape and grew a goatee in order to snag the part of Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and inventor who deveolpes a suit that transforms him into an ironclad avenger.
The film’s script by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby has Stark kidnapped and forced to build a weapon of mass destruction. To escape, he builds his iconic suit of armor and later uses it to foil a threat against the planet.
Rather than being turned off by Downey’s public struggle with substance abuse, Marvel apparently saw the actor as a perfect fit for its superhero universe, which is populated by flawed characters who have to deal with their own personal demons in addition to super villains. The Oscar-nominated actor can be seen in this week’s theatrical release The Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. He will next star oppsite Nicole Kidman in Fur and Jake Gyllenhaal in David Fincher’s Zodiac.
Produced by Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige and former Marvel Ent. CEO Avi Arad, Iron Man is Marvel’s first independently produced pic. Tapping its $525 million loan deal with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc., the company will reportedly pour more than $100 million into the production, which will go before the lens in February. The movie will be released by Paramount Pictures, which will serve as Marvel’s sole marketing and distribution partner for this and upcoming flicks based on classic comics properties including Captain America, The Avengers, Nick Fury, Ant-Man and Dr. Strange.
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