The acclaimed actor will put himself in the shoes of Doctor Dolittle; the doctor will be able to talk to animals, in "The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle."

This will be the first role for Downey Jr. in years beyond the Marvel cinematic universe, in which he plays the character of Iron Man in the different interconnected films of this saga. In 2014, the artist premiered "Chef" and "The Judge," the last feature films in which he performed that have no relationship with Marvel.

The Doc is back

The Universal studio will take care of "The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle," a film that will direct Stephen Gaghan (Gold, 2016) from a script based on a draft of Tom Shepherd.

The character of Doctor Dolittle was created in the 1920s by writer Hugh Lofting to star in a series of children's books. The first version for the big screen of the doctor who could communicate with the animals was released in 1967 with the musical Doctor Dolittle, which won two Oscars: the best original song and the best special effects.

However, the most popular adaptation was the one headed by Eddie Murphy in 1998, which under the title "Doctor Dolittle" grossed nearly $300 million in box offices worldwide, according to the website Box Office Mojo. The performer also starred in the sequel, "Dr. Dolittle 2", in 2001.

Robert Downey Jr., also known for his work on the "Sherlock Holmes" films directed by Guy Ritchie.

Downey Jr. announced the third one, but little is known about its status.

He will participate this year as Iron Man in "Spider-Man: Homecoming," the new Spider-Man movie, lead by Tom Holland. And again in next year’s "Avengers: Infinity War," which is currently in production.

Reboot is in good hands

"The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle" will be produced by Joe Roth, Jeff Kirschenbaum, and Susan Downey.

There’s no word on a planned release date at this point.

Stephen Gaghan wrote the Academy Award-winning film "Traffic" and also penciled and directed the acclaimed film "Syriana," starring George Clooney. This will be the director’s first family film.