Director Alfonso Cuaron has suffered a long string of slings and arrows during pre-production on  Gravity, his follow up to the highly acclaimed Children of Men. We’ve previously reported on Cuaron’s difficulites finding an A-list actress to lead his sci-fi thriller. First Angelina Jolie turned him down. Then Natalie Portman bailed on the project, and finally Sandra Bullock signed on.

Now, Deadline reports Robert Downey Jr. may be departing from Gravity over a scheduling conflict. Warner Bros. is denying the rumor, promising the conflict will be resolved. However, Deadline’s Mike Fleming, insists his sources say the studio and would-be co-star Bullock are teaming up to convince Downey to stay on board. As Downey is doing press for Warner Bros. upcoming comedy, Due Date, they have plenty of access to him at present, so maybe their confidence is warranted. However, by all accounts Downey’s role in the film is supporting, so maybe with so many big projects on the horizon, The Avengers and Sherlock Homes 2, Downey’s lost interest in the troubled sci-fi thriller.

Gravity will center on a space station team member (Bullock) who is ” hellbent on finding her way back to earth and her daughter, after the station is destroyed by a debris field from an exploded asteroid.” Downey was slated to play the station’s only other surviving crew member, a role that was scheduled for three weeks of shoot time. However, with repeated delays due to troubles casting the leading lady, the production’s schedule has shifted several times, making it collide awkwardly with Sherlock’s sequel and bringing the Gravity shoot closer and closer to The Avengers and Iron Man 3‘s production period. While Downey is an admitted fan of Cuaron, it seems more and more likely he might let Gravity drop.

We’ll keep you posted.

Which Downey project are you most excited for: The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Sherlock Holmes 2, or Gravity?

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