Deepti Devi

Robert Downey Jr. and Shane Black along with veteran producer Joel Silver have teamed up to develop a series of projects based on Donald E. Westlakes series of highly popular Parker crime fiction novels, written under the pseudonym Richard Stark. Amazon Studios is all set to bring the project to life with Team Downey productions run by Joel Silver, Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey.Robert Downey Jr. and Shane Black to launch Parker franchise with Play Dirty movie; Iron Man actor to star as ParkerAccording to Collider, the first feature film in the Parker franchise will be Play Dirty introducing Parker (Robert Downey Jr.), a cutthroat, one of a kind, professional thief who takes his line of work dead serious. Becoming the best in the biz didnt come to Parker overnight, it took loads of hard work and dedication to the craft with a healthy side of not wanting to end up behind bars.The film will be directed by Shane Black, who also adapted the screenplay with Charles Mondry and Anthony Bagarozzi. Marc Toberoff and Ezra Emanuel will serve as co-producers alongside Team Downey productions. The film reunites Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, Shane Black and Joel Silver almost two decades following the release of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, their Warner Bros. cult classic.Westlakes book was adapted to film twice before, in 1967s Point Blank starring Lee Marvin and in 1999s Payback starring Mel Gibson. Most recently, Jason Statham played Westlake's crafty, seemingly irredeemable character in the 2013 film Parker.