In the Marvel Cinematic Universe Robert Downey Jr. has already had three actors play his dad - Gerard Sanders, John Slattery and Dominic Cooper - but for one of the star's next project he's looking for an actor who has won three Academy Awards. New reports say that Downey Jr. is now developing a new drama called The Judge to both act in and produce, and he's now he's trying to get Jack Nicholson to come aboard and play his father.
According to THR, the story follows an attorney (Downey Jr.) who travels back to his hometown to attend his mother's funeral. While there he learns that his father, a former judge who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, is the chief suspect in her murder. The son takes it upon himself to defend his father and begins to search for evidence to prove his innocence, becoming closer to his family in the process. The project will be a big change of pace for Dobkin, who is best known for movies like Wedding Crashers, The Change-Up, and Shanghai Knights. The original draft was written by Nick Schenk (Gran Torino, the upcoming RoboCop remake), but in April Bill Dubuque was brought in to do rewrite work.
It's going to be a struggle to get Nicholson to sign on, mostly because the guy simply doesn't act that much anymore. Since starring in The Bucket List in 2007 the only movie he's done has been James L. Brooks' How To Do You Know, which is only memorable because half of the film's $100 million budget went towards paying the cast's salary. That said, it's always great to see legends get back in the ring and it would be awesome to see him paired with Downey Jr.
