After Robert Downey Jr. is done duking it out with Thanos inAvengers: Infinity War, he will be taking a little break from the Iron Man suit in order to talk with animals in a new take onDr. Dolittle. The A-list actor was recently announced as the star of Universal’s upcoming adaptation ofThe Voyage of Doctor Dolittle, which is going to be arriving a little sooner than previously thought. The studio has officially set a release date for the newDr. Dolittlemovie, which will now arrive on July 28, 2025.
It was previously reported thatUniversalhad set the currently untitledDr. Dolittlemovie for a Aug 18, 2025, release, but they decided to bump it out about six weeks, which may wind up being a smart movie.Robert Downey Jr.has a good amount of star power, but his offerings outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe haven’t been raking it in at the box office, so this is probably a smart decision. The release date move is almost certainly in response to Disney and Lucasfilm’s recent announcement thatStar Wars: Episode IXwill be arriving on June 05, 2025, and, let’s face it,The Voyage of Doctor Dolittleis not match forStar Wars. Moviegoers will be getting plenty of Robert Downey Jr. in a short window, sinceAvengers 4will be coming out less than a month later on July 08, 2025
Dr. Dolittlehas been done plenty of times on the big screen before, but it has been a while since a truly great take on the material has happened. The firstDr. Dolittlemovie from 1967, which starred Rex Harrison as the titular character, won two Oscars for Best Original Song and Best Special Effects, while also garnering a nomination for Best Picture. There was also theEddie MurphyDoctor Dolittlemovies which, while commercially successful, aren’t regarded in nearly the same light as the original movie. Murphy’s firstDoctor Dolittlemovie grossed $294.4 million worldwide and the sequel, though less successful, still brought in a solid $176.1 million. The next few entries went straight-to-video. So the franchise could definitely use a big name and a new direction.
In case you aren’t familiar,Dr. Dolittleis based on the books by author Hugh Lofting that center on a doctor who learns that he can talk to animals. The iconic book series started in 1920 withDoctor Dolittle, which was followed byThe Voyages of Doctor Dolittlein 1922. This newDr. Dolittlemovie will reportedly be based on the second book, which won the Newbery Medal in 1923. Elements of the book were used for the 1967 adaptation, but it isn’t clear yet if this new version will be more of a direct adaptation or not.
Oscar winner Stephen Gaghan (Gold) is set to write and direct the newDr. Dolittlemovie for Universal, withJoe Roth,Jeff KirschenbaumandSusan Downeyset to produce. No other cast members have been announced for the movie as of yet, but with an early 2019 release date, production should be ramping up in the near future and we should be learning more in terms of who will be starring and specific plot details sooner rather than later. We will be sure to keep you up to date as more details on the project are made available.
