While there was a time when you couldn't go a month without hearing about a new project Robert Downey Jr. was attached to, his schedule has actually slowed down considerably. With The Avengers due out on May 4th, that means the only project at least in pre-production that the actor is attached to is Iron Man 3. (and will start filming next month). That means that some of RDJ's in-development titles are going to have to finally come together if he wants to keep his face on screen, and today one of them has taken astep forward.
The Judge, a new dramedy from director David Dobkin, has found a new writer in Bill Dubuque, according to Deadline. Dubuque is being brought in to re-write the script, which follows a big shot lawyer (Downey Jr.) who returns home after his mother dies and discovers that his estranged father, a judge, is suspected of murder. As the lawyer searches for clues to prove his dad's innocence, he reconnects with the family he abandoned. The first draft of the script was written by Nick Schenk, who is best known for scripting Gran Torino as well as the upcoming RoboCop remake. Dobuque doesn't have any produced credits, but his action/thriller script The Accountant was featured in the 2011 Black List (a list of the most popular unproduced screenplays in a given year.
I'm not 100% sure how quickly this is going to head into production. While hiring a new writer is progress, the production schedule of Iron Man 3 and the rebirth of Dobkin's Arthur & Lancelot at Warner Bros. means that neither the star nor director will be available for the next few months. It's good to know that both of them have something in the pipeline, though.
