Robert Downey Jr. gain more than 20 pounds of muscle in five months to look like he "had the power to forge iron". "Iron Man" was globally released between April 30 and May 3, 2008, grossing over $585 million worldwide and receiving rave reviews which cited Downey's performance as a highlight of the film. By October 2008, Downey had agreed to appear as Iron Man in two "Iron Man" sequels, as part of the Iron Man franchise, as well as "The Avengers", featuring the superhero team that Stark joins, based on Marvel's comic book series "The Avengers". He first reprised the role in
Robert Downey Jr. of screenwriter Shane Black. After "Gothika", Downey was cast in a number of leading and supporting roles, including well-received work in a number of semi-independent films: "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints", "Good Night, and Good Luck", Richard Linklater's dystopian, rotoscoped "A Scanner Darkly" (in which Downey plays the role of a drug addict), and Steven Shainberg's fictional biographical film of Diane Arbus, "Fur", where Downey's character represented the two biggest influences on Arbus's professional life, Lisette Model and Marvin Israel. Downey also received great notice for his roles in more mainstream fare such as "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and