Paramount Pictures is remaking Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 classic Vertigo, with Robert Downey Jr eyeing the lead role, according to American entertainment magazine Deadline.
As per the report, the script will be written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, who just signed on to write a Star Wars film. Davis Entertainment’s John Davis and John Fox will produce the film with Team Downey’s Robert and Susan Downey.
The Hitchcock Estate reportedly gave the green signal to Paramount for the remake of the original psychological thriller.
In the original film, James Stewart played the role of a former police detective who was forced to retire after a line-of-duty trauma that left him with a fear of heights. The former cop is hired by an acquaintance, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), as a private investigator to follow his wife Madeleine (Kim Novak), who is behaving erratically. What follows is a game of seduction and betrayal.
Downey has kept a low profile as an actor since the release of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, followed by 2020’s Dolittle. He produced and appeared in the documentary Sr. about his father and will be next seen in Christopher Nolan’s historical epic Oppenheimer alongside Cillian Murphy. The Iron Man actor is also starring in the Park Chan-wook-directed post-Vietnam War drama series The Sympathiser for A24 and HBO.
