Robert Downey Jr. Joins Alfonso Cuáron’s “Gravity”

Robert Downey Jr. Joins Alfonso Cuáron’s “Gravity”

By Tim Strain

It’s been far too long since we saw an Alfonso Cuarón film, his last being 2006’s “Children of Men.” While has had his hands in a few productions that ended up moving on without him (such as “The Tourist,” which has now become “The Lives of Others,” director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s baby), this looks like the first project of his that we will chalk up as “will definitely happen.”

The addition of one of Hollywood’s current most well-liked A-listers, none other than Robert Downey Jr., will help cement this status. Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Downey, Jr. will sign on to the Warner Brothers/Legendary Pictures production within the next couple days, and shooting will take place in London over the summer. RDJ will play the leader on a space station who desperately attempts to get back to Earth after an accident kills the rest of his crew, aside from his female partner whom he was working with outside the station when the catastrophe took place.

Angelina Jolie was reported to be close to signing onto the project last week, but it appears she has backed out of the deal. Cuarón and his son Jonas wrote the script. IMDbPro currently has cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki (“Children of Men,” “The New World,” “Y Tu Mamá También”) as the only other crew name attached to the project at this point. A release date for the film has not yet been set.