‘Vertigo’ remake in the works with Robert Downey Jr.

Steven Knight is set to the write the script

A remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is underway at Paramount, with Robert Downey Jr. in talks to take on the lead role.

According to Deadline, the actor is producing the remake and “eyeing” the lead role made famous by James Stewart in the original 1958 psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is said to be on board to write the script, who recently signed up to write a new Star Wars film.

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Based on the French novel D’entre les morts, Vertigo follows former police detective John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson (Stewart) who is forced to retire after an incident in the line of duty which caused him to develop a fear of heights.

Vertigo
James Stewart in ‘Vertigo’. CREDIT: Photo 12/Alamy

The film received mixed reviews upon release, but has since become one of Hitchcock’s most beloved works. In Sight & Sound’s recent poll of the greatest films ever made, Vertigo was at number two.

Vertigo was remade in 1965 as Tamil-language thriller Kalangaria Vilakkam. It also inspired a number of other films, including Brian De Palma’s Obsession and 2001’s Mulholland Drive.

Downey Jr.’s next major role is in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, opposite Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt and Matt Damon. The film is released in cinemas on July 21.

The actor recently featured in a Netflix documentary about his late father Robert Downey Sr. who died aged 85 on July 7, 2021.

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