Longtime Friends Hall and Downey Jr. Reunite for New Series Singularity

LOS ANGELES, CA — Actors Jonny Hall and Robert Downey Jr. are teaming up for their first television series in nearly 40 years, titled “Singularity.” The highly anticipated project comes nine years after initial reports of their collaboration surfaced.

While promoting his role in Season 3 of Amazon Prime’s “Reacher,” Hall shared updates on the series during a visit to DECIDER‘s studio. Hall, who will star in the new show, revealed that Downey Jr. will serve as director. Recently, they brought in Brad Falchuk, a renowned television writer and producer known for his work on series like “Glee,” to assist with the project.

“Brilliant guy, really a smart guy,” Hall said of Falchuk’s involvement. “Our hope is that we’re going to set the show up, and with Brad’s involvement now, I’m just excited to be working with those guys. So I’m looking forward to hopefully making that happen.”

Hall noted they had to revise parts of “Singularity” after realizing it was accidentally reminiscent of HBO‘s acclaimed series “Succession.” He explained, “After writing up numerous drafts a couple of years ago, we realized it was kind of shaping up, very accidentally, like ‘Succession.’ And it was such a big show. So we had to kind of regroup and reconfigure things.”

The friendship between Hall and Downey Jr. spans decades, originating with their time on the set of the 1985 comedy “Weird Science.” This August marks the 40th anniversary of their first collaboration, and the duo last worked together in the 1988 film “Johnny Be Good. “

Reflecting on their past projects, Hall joked, “I just have great memories of shooting that film. Downey refers to it as ‘Johnny B Movie.’ And I’m like, ‘Screw you, Iron Man.’ I love it. I have a lot of laughs when I think back on it.”

In the meantime, Hall is receiving acclaim for his performance as Zachary Beck in Season 3 of “Reacher,” which has broken viewership records for the streaming platform. His character, a wealthy rug importer, becomes embroiled in a dangerous investigation involving a gun-running operation led by the villainous Julius McCabe.

“There’s a great arc that [creator Nick Santora] gave me, which comes from the book, which is this kind of sad relationship he has with his son,” Hall explained. He added that becoming a father last summer helped him portray the father-son dynamics more authentically. “I knew what it felt like to be a father and to love your son,” he said.

Hall’s personal experiences, particularly his upbringing without a biological father, deeply influenced his portrayal of Beck’s relationship with his son, Richard. “I was kind of curious about my own father. I didn’t actually meet him until I was about 22 years old,” Hall shared. “It was really interesting to delve and draw from your own life and give it to the work.”

Fans of Hall and Downey Jr. eagerly await further news on “Singularity” as they can currently stream “Weird Science” and “Johnny Be Good” on Prime Video. Will Beck and Richard be able to repair their relationship? Tune in for the Season 3 finale of “Reacher” dropping on Prime Video Thursday, March 26.