A major studio acquired the rights to remake a famous Alfred Hitchcock film and is reportedly eyeing a Hollywood legend for the lead role.
Paramount Pictures will release the redone version of the 1958 psychological thriller “Vertigo,” potentially starring Robert Downey Jr., Variety reported Thursday.
Team Downey production company, made up of Downey and his wife, Susan Downey, will administer the project alongside Davis Entertainment, organized by John Davis and John Fox. (RELATED: Warner Bros. To Revamp ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Movies)
Steven Knight is set to write the script, according to the outlet. The “Peaky Blinders” creator is also committed to writing the screenplay for an untitled “Star Wars” movie abandoned by its original writers, Variety reported in a separate article Tuesday.
Paramount Pictures, the studio behind the original version of “Vertigo,” will handle the remake per the request of the Hitchcock Estate, according to Trevor Decker News.
Downey has done little on the big screen since his starring role in 2020’s “Dolittle” and his reprised portrayal as Iron Man in 2019’s “Avenger’s: Endgame,” one of the highest-grossing movies ever made, according to Variety.
James Stewart starred as John “Scottie” Ferguson, a San Francisco police detective who retires out of a fear of heights caused by intense vertigo, in the original version of the movie. Hired to follow an acquaintance’s wife portrayed by Kim Novak, the officer becomes obsessed with the woman. Strange things happen when she climbs the tower of a Spanish Mission.
“Vertigo” was not an initial success, dividing critics. A resurgence in the 1980s rendered the film a masterpiece, and now the film, inspired by French novel “D’entre les morts” by Boileau-Narcejac, is lauded as one of the best of all time, Variety reported.