Robert Downey Jr. Is Circling The Lead In The Hider Movie At Universal

Robert Downey Jr. may be preparing to put on a new mask as the MCU's Doctor Doom in the near future, but the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer star isn't done with taking on original projects just yet it would seem. Having starred in Park Chan-wook's The Sympathizer and made his Broadway debut leading Ayad Akhtar's new play McNeal this year already, Deadline are now reporting that Downey Jr. is being eyed to lead an adaptation of Julianna Baggott's short story The Hider at Universal.

According to Deadline's article, Universal have snapped up the rights to Baggott's short story, whose plot details currently remain firmly under wraps. Ant-Man And The Wasp and Transformers One duo Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari are working on the script for the adaptation, which is the latest in an increasingly long line of projects based on Baggott's works to enter development. Others include a screen take on her de-aging dad-and-daughter story 'Backwards' from director Shawn Levy, a Ryan Reynolds backed one-hour drama adaptation of her short story 'Except You', and Lucy Hale led rom-com Which Brings Me To You. Given the genre range of Baggott's written work, your guess is as good as ours when it comes to what The Hider may entail — though the title certainly doesn't sound like a rom-com to us.

As for who will star alongside Downey Jr. in the movie, when it will shoot, or indeed when we may expect to see it reach cinemas, all of those things — like the plot of the film itself — remain a mystery for the time being. But with the project's status being described as "in early development" at present, we may have to sit tight for a wee while before The Hider comes out of, well, hiding. Still, news of a new RDJ movie in the pipeline is enough to have our curiosity piqued, and we'll bring you more on the newly minted Oscar winner's mysterious new film just as soon as we get it.