HBO and Downey’s planned HBO series reboot of iconic TV courtroom drama Perry Mason has lost one of its key players – at least in one capacity.
Robert Downey Jr. has been attached to play the title character and produce the project since it was set up at the cable network two years ago, but now HBO president of programming Casey Bloys has confirmed that Downey will no longer star in the show which remains in active development:
“We developed two really good scripts, and we are talking about, is any actor that would be great for the role. There is a lot of interest from actors, we are thinking about who that might be.”
Downey’s film commitments likely prevent his involvement. Team Downey originally developed the project as a film six years ago, but that didn’t get off the ground. True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto was originally on board to write the HBO series but Ron Fitzgerald and Rolin Jones penned the most recent version.
Robert and Susan Downey remain executive producers on the series which will again follow the unorthodox investigator/defense attorney famously played by Raymond Burr.
