Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr. is ready to show his linguistic skills as the actor just signed Universal's "The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle" where he will be talking to animals. The 51-year-old star, who have appeared in various critically and commercially successful movies such as "The Avengers", "Iron Man" and "Sherlock Holmes" will now be aiding sick animals with his ability to converse with them.
According to the Guardian, in "The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle", Robert will play the character of John Dolittle created by children's author Hugh Lofting and follow the footsteps of Rex Harrison and Eddie Murphy who previously portrayed the same role in the 90's. The race of acquiring the project was tough, but Universal ultimately won.
BBC reported that Oscar Winner Stephan Gaghan of "Syriana" fame will be directing the movie, but no further details have been revealed by Universal. Since the character was created in 1920, it is also unclear whether the movie will showcase the same time period. As reported by Daily Mail, the first big adaptation of the story was in 1967 when Rex Harrison took the role. The movie received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
Later, in 1998, Eddie Murphy played the character, which was a huge commercial success, followed by four sequels (last three were direct to video). Being one of the most popular movie stars around the globe, it would be very interesting to see Downey Jr. play the same character as everyone is aware of his hands on comedy and his acting skills.
Apart from this, the "Chaplin" star will be seen reprising his role of 'Tony Stark / Iron Man' in summer release superhero flick "Spider-Man: Homecoming", followed by Avengers: Infinity War in 2018. He is also set to return to play the role of famous detective Sherlock Holmes in the third sequel of the franchise, reports Radio Times.