Robert Downey Jr to Star in ‘The Sympathizer’ Series Adaptation for HBO and A24

Robert Downey Jr. in one of his first major roles since completing his work as Iron Man will star in a drama series adaptation of “The Sympathizer” for HBO and A24, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.

“The Sympathizer” is based on the 2015 debut novel by Vietnamese American professor Viet Thanh Nguyen, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Downey Jr. is attached to co-star in the series, while a worldwide casting search is underway for the Vietnamese lead role, who will anchor the series’ predominantly Vietnamese cast. Downey Jr. will also executive produce the series for his Team Downey banner.

Park Chan-wook, best known as the director of the cult classic “Oldboy” and films like “Stoker” and “The Handmaiden,” is directing, executive producing and serving as showrunner.

Part espionage thriller, part historical fiction and part darkly comedic satire, “The Sympathizer” is the story of an anonymous narrator in the ’70s who is a North Vietnamese mole embedded within the South Vietnamese army and who serves as a cultural advisor in America for an American film in the vein of “Platoon” and “Apocalypse Now.”

Deadline first reported the news.

More to come…