Robert Downey Jr was this week picked to play Iron Man, a move that set Hollywood tongues wagging as the troubled star took another determined step towards resurrecting his career.

The announcement by Marvel Studios ended months of speculation about who would suit up to play one of comicdom's most beloved superheroes.

Jon Favreau is directing the film, which will tell the story of billionaire industrialist Tony Stark, who is kidnapped by enemy forces and forced to build a weapon of mass destruction - instead, he invents a mighty suit of armour to help him escape and save the world.

Interestingly it is understood the screenplay will sidestep the issue of Stark's alcoholism. Downey Jr famously has a history of substance abuse.

Marvel is certainly putting its money where its mouth is - the film has a budget of more than $100m and marks the first feature to be produced independently by Marvel Entertainment. Previously, characters such as Spider-Man and X-Men were licensed to other studios. The Iron Man film is scheduled to begin shooting in February and pencilled in for release in May 2008.

Downey has had a golden streak recently, garnering rave reviews in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Good Night and Good Luck and Richard Linklater's animation experiment A Scanner Darkly. He next stars opposite Nicole Kidman in the upcoming Diane Arbus biopic Fur, and in the Venice film festival award-winning drama A Guide to Recognising Your Saints.