Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to remake the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock classic psychological thriller, Vertigo. The studio is considering Robert Downey Jr. for the lead role, originally played by James Stewart. The character, a former police detective, is forced into retirement due to a trauma sustained in the line of duty, which leaves him with a fear of heights and vertigo. Steven Knight, the creator of See and Peaky Blinders, who recently signed on to write a Star Wars film, will be writing the script for the Vertigo remake.

Producers for the project include John Davis and John Fox of Davis Entertainment, along with Robert and Susan Downey from Team Downey. Paramount was the studio behind the original film, and the Hitchcock Estate expressed their preference for the studio to handle the remake. The original film was based on the Boileau-Narcejac novel D’entre les morts (From Among the Dead) and was scripted by Alec Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor.