Well, Robert Downey Jr. is certainly making the most of his second shot at A-list glory. The anchor of the “Iron Man” and “Sherlock Holmes” franchises isn’t looking to earn cred by signing on for prestige or indie pics, adding another big tentpole film to his upcoming slate which includes “The Avengers” and “Oz The Great And Powerful.”
EW reports that the actor is signed on to a big screen adaptation of “Peabody And Sherman,” based on the cartoon shorts that were part of the “Rocky & Bullwinkle Show.” In case you are too young to remember, the cartoons centered on a genius dog, Mr. Peabody and his pet boy Sherman, who used the the WABAC Machine to travel through history, learning things along the way. The upcoming film will be a computer animated 3D affair, and while the casting of RDJ to voice Mr. Peabody is inspired, the talent the behind the camera is less than thrilling.
The script was been written by “Yogi Bear” writers Jeffrey Ventimilia and Joshua Sternin, and has Rob Minkoff at the helm. Sure, he directed “The Lion King” and “Stuart Little” but he’s also behind “The Haunted Mansion” so, not exactly consistent, then. But he seems to be excited with the task of taking on the film, and sees Mr. Peabody as appealing to the outsider, brainiac dog in all of us.
“Mr. Peabody is this genetic anomaly,” Minkoff says. “He does have brothers and sisters, all of them non-speaking, not super-smart dogs. He’s an outcast, but has overcome it by being so great at so many things.”
The role of Sherman hasn’t been cast yet, but work has already started on character design with an image of Mr. Peabody due to be in the pages of EW this week. Excited? You’ll have to wait. The film isn’t scheduled to hit theaters until 2014.
