'You don't remake Hitchcock': Fans unhappy over Robert Downey Jr led remake of Vertigo

Robert Downey Jr is evidently set out on a unique and intriguing path following his long and successful stint as Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Soon after his retirement from the superhero role in 2019 (Avengers: Endgame), Downey Jr. took upon exciting television projects as an executive producer (under Team Downey) and backed critically acclaimed series like Perry Mason and Sweet Tooth, along with his wife and co-founder Susan Downey. 

As an actor, too, the Sherlock Holmes actor has been picking rather offbeat projects for a superstar and one such is the upcoming Christopher Nolan helmed J. Robert Oppenheimer biopic, Oppenheimer. In the same vein, reports about his next potential lead role come to the fore and should things fall in place, he will soon be starring in a modern re-imagination of the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock classic Vertigo. 

Deadline reports that Paramount Pictures has 'preemptively' acquired the remake rights of Vertigo with Steven Knight of Peaky Blinders fame brought on board to write the script. Robert Downey Jr, according to the same report, is keen on landing the role that has been immortalized by James Stewart.

While the prospects do sound interesting, fans and netizens seem far from being impressed. Soon after the news broke, social media users did not mince words in voicing their disappointment, with the most common opinion being that a classic film of the kind of Vertigo should not be flirted with. 

"You don't remake Hitchcock," said a user who stated outright that remaking any Alfred Hitchcock, let alone Vertigo, is a disastrous idea. Another Twitter user said that "it's utter sacrilege" to try to reimagine Vertigo. "There's still some don't do it," responded another user with a fellow Twitter member suggesting that if Paramount Pictures cannot find a new script, they should refer to the AI ChatGPT!

Here are a few more hilarious yet genuine concerns over the news of the Vertigo remake:

Robert Downey Jr and Susan Downey of Team Downey are also co-producing the remake along with Davis Entertainment’s John Davis and John Fox. It would be interesting how the project develops but more than that, should Downey Jr eventually land the role, one would be super keen to know how he fares in the iconic role of Detective John Ferguson. More updates to follow.