Robert Downey Jr. to Play Ben Stiller's Evil 'Master Mind'

You feel good for Robert Downey Jr. right about now. The talent was never in doubt, but his future sure was. And once he got back on track, Downey appeared in a lot of films that showcased his ability, if too a smaller audience than he deserved. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Zodiac, and A Scanner Darkly all feature great Downey creations, and collectively, those movies made less in their entire theatrical runs than Iron Man made on its opening day. But then, the Summer of Downey arrived, and because of Iron Man and Tropic Thunder, he's getting the good roles in bigger movies. It's the Johnny Depp Principle. Downey has already been cast as Sherlock Holmes in a very ambitious new treatment of the legendary detective by Guy Ritchie, and he has nodded in agreement to a live-action adaptation of the comic series Cowboys & Aliens. Iron Man 2, of course, is in the works, and there's still talk that he'll play Hugh Hefner in a biopic down the line. All of that happened within the past four months, and he's still got The Soloist this fall, which co-stars Jamie Foxx and is directed by Oscar nominee Joe Wright. And today, Entertainment Weekly learned that Downey may reunite with Ben Stiller, who is producing an animated film called Master Mind. Like The Incredibles, Master Mind is set in the world of superheroes. Downey would play the villain - the master mind - "who loses his will to live after accidentally killing his archrival." Whatever will he do? The article also indicates that Tina Fey might join the cast, as well. Because this is a DreamWorks animation project, and between the Shrek movies and Kung Fu Panda, the studio has learned how to print money with their cartoons, this is a no-questions-asked proposition for Downey for a few reasons: His growing brand name will help this film bring in an adult audience, the money is certainly good (think sequels), and after jumping around from Tony Stark to Sherlock Holmes and back again, Downey probably would welcome the opportunity to sit in a sound booth for a couple weeks and create something that requires no exercise.

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