Robert Downey Jr. and Shane Black are reportedly reteaming for a new adaptation of author Donald Westlake/Richard Stark’s Parker novels at Amazon. According to Hollywood insider Matthew Belloni (via Puck’s What I’m Hearing newsletter), the famed screenwriter behind Lethal Weapon and The Nice Guys has scripted the new film project for Amazon Studios (Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, Reacher). Downey, who starred in Black’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Marvel’s Iron Man 3, is starring and will produce with wife Susan Downey of Team Downey (Sherlock Holmes, Sweet Tooth) and Joel Silver (Lethal Weapon, The Nice Guys).
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Downey is the latest to play the cold and meticulous career criminal Parker, inspiration for characters portrayed by Lee Marvin (in 1967’s Point Blank), Jim Brown (1968’s The Split), Robert Duvall (in 1973’s The Outfit), Peter Coyote (in 1983’s Slayground), and Mel Gibson (in 1999’s Payback). Jason Statham most recently played the professional thief in 2013’s Parker.
After his swansong from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, Downey’s first post-Iron Man project was 2020’s Dolittle. Downey will reunite with his Due Date and The Soloist co-star Jamie Foxx in All-Star Weekend, an upcoming sports comedy-drama directed by and starring Foxx.
In 2020, Downey said he’s “all done” with Iron Man, his career-revitalizing role that launched the MCU in 2008.
“I had an incredible 10-year run with Marvel which pushed me creatively. I now have tons more ambition to do things I haven’t done before. Evolving is key — the worst thing you can do is get in your own way,” Downey previously told The Hindustan Times. “Just in the matter of me wanting to be a fit father, husband, and citizen, it’d be irresponsible of me to not keep my eye ahead so I can prepare my mind for what’s to come and the transition.”
Downey added, “As an actor, every time I get a script now, I think about the commitment and time I’d be away from my missus and kiddos.”
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Images courtesy of The Cannon Group, Showtime, and 20th Century Studios
