George Clooney Replaced Robert Downey Jr. In GRAVITY
GRAVITY, the Warner Bros.’ and Legendary Pictures space thriller has George Clooney stepping into the role that Robert Downey Jr. was initially set to play. Gravity follows a female astronaut (Sandra Bullock) who, after a disaster in space, struggles survive and complete her journey back to earth.
The project has been through several casting changes. Initially, Angelina Jolie and Robert Downey Jr. were set to star, but after a back and forth where Jolie left the picture and came back, other options were considered. Scarlett Johansson, Blake Lively, Marion Cotillard, and Natalie Portman were all considered for the film within the last 8 month. Finally in mid-November, Bullock signed on as the female lead for Gravity.
While he hung around during the casting changes, just as Bullock was confirmed Downey opted out of the project.
Warner Bros. considered scraping Gravity, but instead began looking one last time for someone to fill the role of male lead next to Bullock.
Enter George Clooney. While his character doesn’t carry the film, he is pivotal to the first act. Clooney is currently directing Ides of March starring Ryan Gosling and Paul Giamatti. Once Ides wraps, production of Gravity can begin with the studio looking at an early spring start.
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