Robert Downey Jr Is THE ACCIDENTAL GENIUS

Iron Man actor attaches himself to original thriller that sounds like a mix between Limitless and The Da Vinci Code.

By Matt Holmes /

So Robert Downey Jr does find himself attracted to original projects now and again! Deadline reports that Warner Bros have acquired Adam Gibgot's pitch The Accidental Genius for Robert Downey Jr and Susan Downey to produce alongside Ben Silverman's Electus. Downey Jr is eyeing the lead role where he would a play an average guy who;
"awakens from a coma with astonishing intelligence, and visions of a bizarre symbol recognized only by a burnt-out prodigy. Together, the two men set out to solve a hundred-year-old mystery that could change the world."
Apparently there is some real life medical credence to this condition and 'The Accidental Genius' is a true life term for those who have suffered (or I guess gained?) from the physical trauma of heightened mental abilities. The concept sounds a lot like the Bradley Cooper starrer Limitless mixed with The Da Vinci Code. Gibgot landed the pitch with Downey Jr's via producer Silverman who has worked with the writer developing several pilots at NBC. Downey Jr has been in the mood for attaching himself to projects lately and a week ago Team Downey (his shingle for developing potential starring vehicles at Warner Bros, the home of his Sherlock Holmes movies) similarly put into development a Perry Mason film adaptation. I imagine the actor who is next seen in Sherlock Holmes 2: Game of Shadows and is finishing up The Avengers is going to fit in at least one movie before Iron Man 3 shoots next year and he's actively on the hunt for what that could be right now. Out of Perry Mason and The Accidental Genius, I think I would rather see the former...