Director David Dobkin is best known for helming raunchy, broad comedies like the smash hit Wedding Crashers and the underrated switcheroo pic The Change-Up. But for his next venture, he's diving into drama—well dramedy anyway—with Warner Bros' The Judge.
Penned by Nick Schenk (Gran Torino) and revised by Bill Dubuque, the film will star Robert Downey Jr. as a successful lawyer who returns home following the unexpected death of his mother. Once there, he discovers his estranged father is suspected of having murdered her, and the two reconnect while trying to clear the family name. Downey had campaigned for Jack Nicholson to play his father in this flick. But once Nicholson said no, producers wrangled another storied heavy hitter in Robert Duvall.
THR reports the latest to join this already impressive cast is Law & Order: Criminal Intent star Vincent D'Onofrio, who has been steadily scoring film roles since the show drew to a close after ten seasons. He's set to play Downey's older brother with whom his character will reconnect while seeking to discover the truth about their mother's death. With this trio, Dobkin's already built a solid base to take the risk of tackling drama.
There's no mention yet as to when The Judge might roll into production. But in the meantime, you can see Downey in Iron Man 3, D'Onofrio in The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, and Duvall in A Night in Old Mexico. Each of which is expected to come out within the next year.
