I love Robert Downey Jr. He’s quirky and interesting and he brings something to his roles that no one else can bring, but this news has officially thrown me for a loop as Variety confirms the news that was reported earlier by Ain’t It Cool News that Downey has been cast for the lead role in Iron Man for the Paramount Pictures comic book adaptation and director Jon Favreau.
In the film Downey will play Iron Man and his alter ego Tony Stark, a wealthy industrialist who invents a high-tech suit of body armor giving him superpowers when he is kidnapped. In the comics, Stark was an alcoholic, a trait that will undoubtedly draw public comparisons with Downey’s own struggles with substance abuse. However, Feige said the first pic won’t deal with Stark’s alcohol problems, though it would likely come up in potential sequels.
The article goes on to say that the first film, in the what Marvel hopes to be an Iron Man franchise, will deal with Stark’s invention of the Iron Man suit and his conflicted past as a weapons inventor.
Iron Man is currently set for a May 2, 2008 release with principal photography set to begin in February.
UPDATE: Favreau has gone and made a small post on his MySpace page saying the following:
It is true. Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark. I am about as excited as I can be. I saw what he can do and he is extremely enthusiastic about playing Stark. I can say with absolute certainty that there is no better choice. The humor and emotional dimension he brings truly raises the bar on this project. Get ready.
