Well, who woulda thought...

A while back, in the scramble to get a new Superman movie going, there was talk of Tim Burton directing and of Nick Cage playing the Man of Steel. What, Nick "Raising Arizona" Cage? Nick "Leaving Las Vegas" Cage? Nick "the anything but Superman" Cage? Well, we know how that panned out.

And now we have...Robert Downey Jr. rumored to play Iron Man? But no--it's not a rumor; it's a done deal. What, Robert "Chaplin" Downey Jr.? Robert "A Scanner Darkly" Downey Jr.? Robert "heroin addict who plays the quirky not-so-lead roles" Downey Jr.? Yeppers. And (if I may be so bold) we know how this one'll pan out: splendidly.

I'm a big Downey fan and love his work in everything from "Weird Science," to "Back to School," to "Short Cuts," to "Hugo Pool" (a lesser-known, neat little film, directed by his father and also starring Alyssa Milano, Malcolm McDowell and Sean Penn). Of course, "Chaplin" gave him his biggest role and exposure; and he most recently delivers his patented cool and quirky goods in "A Scanner Darkly." The casting of Downey as troubled billionaire-turned-hero Tony Stark is a bit eye-opening--and also refreshing. I expect that he'll do great things with the role.

Jon Favreau is another person whose work I respect--that is, I enjoy his acting work, and I respect his directing work. You know Favreau as sad-sack Mike Peters in "Swingers" (which Favreau also wrote). He plays a dreadlocked bumbling free spirit in "PCU," an asteroid-destroyer in "Deep Impact," and a soon-to-be-married man having his last hurrah in "Very Bad Things." Over the years, Favreau has plumped
up--as male actors who've hit it big tend to--and has turned to directing, his films being "Made" (in which he reunites with acting buddy Vince Vaughn), "Elf" (family fun with Will Ferrell) and "Zathura" (which is similar to yet different from "Jumanji"--
and better).

Favreau has great talent, and I like his artistic choices. And I'm confident in his casting choice (of Downey), as well. I think we'll see a wonderfully conflicted hero in this film. And if it's a choice between metals, I'm going with this team's "Iron Man" over the Man of Steel we saw in the rather lackluster and been-there-done-that "Superman Returns."