Robert Downey Jr. Signs On For New HBO Show Where He'll Play Multiple Bad Guys

Robert Downey Jr. is finished playing Iron Man, and now he's signed on to his first project following his run as the Marvel superhero. Deadline reports that the actor will star in a new TV series for HBO based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer from Viet Thanh Nguyen.

It's a spy thriller about a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy at the end of the Vietnam War as he lives in the United States. Production company A24 is currently conducting a "worldwide search" to find an actor to play the lead role to star alongside Downey Jr.

He will play multiple characters on the show, and they're all villains from America. These will include a Congressman from Orange County, a CIA agent, a Hollywood movie director, and others.

According to Deadline, Downey Jr. considered "several offers" after retiring as Iron Man, though none were named in the report. He chose this role because he liked the story and the ability to play multiple characters, according to Deadline's sources.

Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) is attached as the co-showrunner of The Sympathizer alongside Don McKellar. There is no word yet on who else may star in the series or when it will release.

Downey Jr. ended his Marvel run on a high note, as Avengers: Endgame made more than $2.7 billion at the global box office to become the second highest-grossing movie in history.