Robert Downey Jr. is suiting up to star in Iron Man, the first feature film to be produced independently by Marvel Entertainment, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Jon Favreau is directing the movie, which will be distributed by Paramount Pictures.

Downey will portray Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist and genius inventor who is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon. Using his intelligence and ingenuity, Stark instead builds a high-tech suit of armor and escapes captivity. Upon his return to the U.S., he uncovers a plot with global implications and must don his armor and protect the world.

The comic debuted in the 1960s, and Iron Man's origin involved Stark being a prisoner of the Viet Cong. The movie version, written by Art Marcum & Matt Holloway and Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby, will be set in today's geopolitical climate.