Following the end of his run as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame, we’ve only seen Robert Downey Jr. act in 2020’s Dolittle, but he’ll soon be on our screens more often. Along with being part of the sprawling cast of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, as well as both starring in and executive producing the upcoming HBO series The Sympathizer, it’s now been reported that Downey is involved in a remake Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 movie Vertigo both behind the scenes and potentially on camera.
Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to a remake of the psychological thriller that’s being written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, who also just signed on to write a Star Wars movie. Robert Downey Jr. is producing this new version of Vertigo with his wife, Susan Downey, through their Team Downey production banner alongside Davis Entertainment’s John Davis and John Fox. Additionally, Deadline has heard that Downey is being “eyed” to play the role originated by James Stewart of a police detective who’s forced to retire after experiencing trauma that leaves him with vertigo and a fear of heights, and is hired to investigate an acquaintance’s wife. Whether or not Downey plays this character, it’s unclear if the man would also be named John “Scottie” Ferguson” or something else.
The original Vertigo, which was also distributed by Paramount, was initially met with mixed critical reception when it came out, but decades later, it now stands as one of Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest movies. James Stewart was joined by Kim Novak, Tom Helmore, Barbara Bel Geddes and Henry Jones, among others, and Alec Coppell and Samuel Taylor penned the screenplay based on the French novel The Living and the Dead (originally known as D'entre les morts, or From Among the Dead) by Boileau-Narcejac. A number of movies have taken inspiration from Vertigo, including Francis Ford Coppola’s Obsession and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.
Again, a deal isn’t in place yet for Robert Downey Jr. to lead the Vertigo remake. Still, assuming Paramount movies forward with it, we can at least count on him working on it behind the scenes, just like he’s been doing with Perry Mason, which is currently in the midst of its second season and can be streamed with an HBO Max subscription. There’s also been a long wait for Downey to reprise his version of Sherlock Holmes, but Guy Ritchie, who directed the first two movies in that series and is still involved in Sherlock Holmes 3, has said that at this point, it’s up to the actor whether the threequel will happen or not.
Once more details about the new Vertigo come in, including whether or not Robert Downey Jr. will actually star in it, we’ll let you know. Meanwhile, you’ll be able to see him playing Lewis Strauss when Oppenheimer opens on July 21 among the 2023 new movie releases.
