In a recent interview with ScreenRant, Shane Black revealed why Robert Downey Jr. had to drop out of the writer/director’s latest movie, Play Dirty. Black and Downey Jr., who previously collaborated on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3, were set to work together again on this adaptation of Donald E. Westlake’s Parker book series, but Downey Jr. was ultimately replaced in the lead role by Mark Wahlberg.
Play Dirty, which premieres October 1 on Prime Video, sees Wahlberg’s Parker and his skilled crew get involved in a score that puts them up against the New York mob. LaKeith Stanfield, Rosa Salazar, Keegan-Michael Key, Nat Wolff, and Thomas Jane also star.
Talking with Black and producer Jules Daly about Play Dirty, ScreenRant’s Liam Crowley got some clarification on why Downey Jr. had to exit the project, though he has still supported the project, which includes his wife, Susan Downey, as a producer.
“Liam Crowley: The Downeys are both still involved in this project. Susan Downey was a producer. I saw Robert had a Q&A with you recently at a screening. There was a time when Robert was attached to star. Is that true?
Shane Black: Yeah. There was a time when he was off doing something else and we were writing and he came back and he went off to do something else again, he was a busy guy. I guess that happens.
Jules Daly: He was on the back end of Oppenheimer, so there was stuff going on around that, but the fact that they stayed involved with us to make the movie and that Mark showed up for us the other night, they’ve been incredible partners.
Shane Black: Yeah, they really have. And also Downey, God bless him, he went off to do his little thing called Dr. Doom with the Avengers, so I’m sure he’s not… Well, he’s probably not regretting getting a chance to do that.”
So, according to Black and Daly, Downey Jr.’s Oscar-winning performance in Oppenheimer and his return to the MCU to play Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday prevented him from leading a Shane Black movie for the first time in 12 years.
Shane Black’s Impact On Robert Downey Jr.’s Career
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was a commercial flop, but the first collaboration between Black and Downey Jr. is beloved by many; the movie has an 86% “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes. It can also be seen as a critical point in the comeback of Downey Jr., as the actor openly says that Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was his “calling card into the Marvel universe” and the role of Tony Stark in Iron Man. Since then, Downey Jr. has become one of the biggest movie stars on the planet and an Oscar winner.
In the above Vanity Fair video, Downey Jr. recalls many of his most iconic roles. When speaking on Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, he calls Black a “legitimate genius.” So his commitment to helping Black with a project in any way, even when he’s not starring in it, speaks to the relationship that the two have.
Our Take On Shane Black And Robert Downey Jr.
While Play Dirty didn’t work to reunite Black and Downey Jr., here’s hoping that changes sometime in the near future. While I would agree with most that Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is the pair’s best collaboration so far, I also enjoyed Iron Man 3 a good bit. Whatever and whenever these two are able to reunite, I will plan on watching.
In the meantime, Play Dirty is playing exclusively on Prime Video starting October 1.
