It’s been nine years since Iron Man 3 hit theaters, Robert Downey Jr. and director Shane Black are finally teaming up again on a new project with Amazon Studios to develop a number of film and television series adapted from author Donald E. Westlake‘s popular Parker crime fiction novels.
It has been announced that the first project of their collaboration would be the film Play Dirty, in which Downey Jr. has been cast in the starring character of Parker, who is portrayed as a highly experienced thief with a ruthless and mercenary work ethic. The character came as the inspiration for Lee Marvin‘s role in 1967’s Point Blank, Jason Statham’s role in 2013’s Parker, and Mel Gibson‘s role in 1999’s Payback.
Silver, Black, and both Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey join up in “Play Dirty.” The quartet collaborated on the 2005 neo-noir film “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” which marked Black‘s directorial debut and featured Downey beside Val Kilmer and Michelle Monaghan. Black and Downey Jr. eventually met up when Black joined Marvel Studios as a co-writer and director of “Iron Man 3.”
Downey‘s current flurry of new projects includes the “Parker” series. Downey is taking his first steps away from mega-budget films in almost three years, nearly three years after his last appearance as Tony Stark in “Avengers: Endgame.”
The actor will co-star in Christopher Nolan‘s biopic “Oppenheimer” at Universal with Cillian Murphy, Matt Damon, and Emily Blunt. Downey is also expected to star in five distinct parts in HBO’s forthcoming drama series “The Sympathizer,” which will be directed by Park Chan-wook. Oppenheimer is scheduled to open in cinemas on July 21, 2023, while “The Sympathizer” has not yet been given an official release date.
Black most recently wrote and directed “The Predator,” a reworking of his 2016 noir comedy “The Nice Guys.”
