ROTTEN TOMATOES: Robert Downey Jr. IS Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr. IS Iron Man

by Jen Yamato | September 29, 2006

Marvel has picked Robert Downey Jr. to play billionaire-turned-metallic superhero Iron Man, AKA Tony Stark, in the John Favreau-directed comic adaptation slated for 2008.

Variety reports the long-awaited casting bit, after years of speculation (Justin Timberlake as Iron Man?) and start-stop pre-production woes. Now, with Paramount set to release it as the first self-financed Marvel production, the "Iron Man" pic is finally set to begin.

Robert Downey Jr.'s latest turn in "A Scanner Darkly"

From Variety:

"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.

First film will deal with Stark's invention of the Iron Man suit and his conflicted past as a weapons inventor."

Favreau may have up to $165 million to play with, and what director wouldn't spend as much as he can get? Production is to begin next February.

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(1-20 of 56 posts) | Reply

cgcbooks writes:
on Sep 29 2006 12:01 PM

Not a bad choice. Loved him in "Back to School".

(Reply to this)

Now it's dark writes:
on Sep 29 2006 12:04 PM

Perfect choice tho I was hoping for Timberlake.

(Reply to this)

cgcbooks writes:
on Sep 29 2006 12:05 PM

I do have a question. Why 165 million for Iron Man?

(Reply to this)

Banana Kid writes:
on Sep 29 2006 12:08 PM

Alas, no Johnny Depp. Oh well. This guy should hopefully be pretty good too.

(Reply to this)

VML writes:
on Sep 29 2006 12:27 PM

Hehe, I find this news to be random. Yeah, RDJ is a good actor, but I wouldn't have expected him to play a superhero. XDD

(Reply to this)

lpbreeze writes:
on Sep 29 2006 12:35 PM

I don't really see it. I would think he would be better as a supporting cast member. But he is a good actor so maybe it will work. I'm still not convinced Jon Favreau is a good director though. Zathura was fun for a while but had some glaring problems and Jumanji was better.

(Reply to this)

SnoopyTrek writes:
on Sep 29 2006 12:45 PM

[b]oh, man...tell me it isn't so...[/b]
They probably have a bad script and can't depend on it and go with an unknown actor. Or, they have a bad script and can't afford a big name actor instead have to go with an ok name. Oh, well...we shall see.

(Reply to this)

TheMaster847 writes:
on Sep 29 2006 01:08 PM

Ooh, I'm pretty excited now. Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang was an awesome movie, and I respect Robert Downey, Jr. And Iron Man just looks badass. As long as it doesn't pull a Fantastic Four and be stupid, I will stay excited.

(Reply to this)

gerke writes:
on Sep 29 2006 01:24 PM

[b]nice[/b]
well th eposter looks very very cool hope they can keep up that style for the movie. (but it's only a poster) for the rest i don't know much about the iron man. heros are not well known in europe except for superman, spiderman and batman.

rdj is a fine actor so i hope he can pull of a superhero movie

(Reply to this)

Xavier Telouran writes:
on Sep 29 2006 01:36 PM

well, think about it this way: who better to play a millionaire playboy with substance abuse problems than... a millionaire playboy with substance abuse problems! this is almost typcasting at its finest...

(Reply to this)

BUCK69 writes:
on Sep 29 2006 01:51 PM

In reply to this comment (#845325)
I couldn't agree more. Let's not forget, Downey was nominated for an academy award. He's an actor, like Christian Bale. He'll do a good job.

(Reply to this)

Merlin235 writes:
on Sep 29 2006 02:53 PM

It's definetely an interesting choice. I'm not sold on Favreau yet, but RDJ is a fine actor. It'll be interesting. Personally, I'm hoping they film it really gritty, really realistically. Almost like a Saving Private Ryan or something like that. In contrast to happy go lucky Fantastic Four, or 'the sun never rises' Batman Begins. Both which work fine for their respective pictures, but I hope this one is realistic and gritty.

(Reply to this)

Arctic_Oasis writes:
on Sep 29 2006 03:10 PM

In reply to this comment (#845327)
As far as I'm concerned Favreau has an unlimited shit-making pass; "Swingers" baby.

(Reply to this)

InfinityCorp writes:
on Sep 29 2006 04:15 PM

This is actually a fantastic choice. The potential for Iron Man to be a great movie was always there because the character and idea are similar to Batman. No super powers from alien crystals or "special" mutations.
A brilliant man who creates a machine.
With RDJ as Stark the stock goes up, way up...

(Reply to this)

Matanuki writes:
on Sep 29 2006 04:47 PM

In reply to this comment (#845317)
Timberlake would have been a disaster far worse than Daredevil. Boy, did we dodge a bullet!

(Reply to this)

Matanuki writes:
on Sep 29 2006 04:48 PM

In reply to this comment (#845318)
Why not? Would you rather a cheap looking Iron Man flick? Of course not.

(Reply to this)

Matanuki writes:
on Sep 29 2006 04:49 PM

In reply to this comment (#845320)
I agree. It's an odd choice. But it makes me curious.

(Reply to this)

The Wicker Man writes:
on Sep 29 2006 04:49 PM

[b]Good actor, Physcially does not look like comic bo[/b]
Russell Crowe would have been a good choice!!!

(Reply to this)

Matanuki writes:
on Sep 29 2006 04:51 PM

In reply to this comment (#845324)
Imagine a loose amalgem between Batman and Superman and you sort of got Tony Stark.

(Reply to this)

Matanuki writes:
on Sep 29 2006 04:55 PM

In reply to this comment (#845335)
Russell Crowe is always a great choice, but for Iron Man? Hmmm. I don't know. But then, Downey Jr. is a surprise as well. Let's just hope it's good. Remember, Iron Man marks Marvel's first independent production. So if nothing else, expect it to honor the comic.

(Reply to this)

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