Todd Phillips On ‘The Hangover 2,’ Getting Robert Downey Jr. For ‘Due Date’

Robert Downey Jr. may be taking on some iconic characters in “Sherlock Holmes” and “Iron Man 2,” but director Todd Phillips says the star will show off a different side of himself in next year’s “Due Date.”

“Robert’s a very funny guy,” “The Hangover” director told Access Hollywood. “There’s a lot of comedy in ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Sherlock Holmes,’ [but] this is a straight-out comedy that really enables him to do some things that we haven’t seen before.”

The just-wrapped film, due November 5, 2010, follows an on-edge expectant father (Downey Jr.) joining a college slacker (“Hangover” star Zach Galifianakis) on a cross-country trip for the birth of his child.

“I begged him and begged him,” Todd joked. “I think he really liked the script, he certainly liked ‘The Hangover’ and some other stuff I did, he loves Zach and we just all got together and had dinner and he just came on board… working with Downey, it was just a privilege. It was just amazing.

“He’s in the stratosphere right now,” Todd continued. “He’s excited about ‘Sherlock,’ ‘Iron Man 2’ I’m sure will be fantastic – he’s in a great place.”

The director is in a great place himself – summer hit “The Hangover” became the top-grossing R-rated comedy of all time this year.

“[R-rated], that’s where I do my best work,” he said.

The film is due on DVD and Blu-ray on December 15, which should tide fans over until “The Hangover 2,” in which he’ll try to do it all over again.

“I think there’s plenty to do and I think that I feel really confident that with these guys again, we can live up [to] and maybe even exceed the first one,” he said. “For me, so much about it is not so much about Vegas or parties as it is about these four characters and what they go through and putting them through the paces. I think that’s what people responded to, their chemistry.”

In good news for Justin Bartha fans, the actor – who spent much of “The Hangover” atop the four friends’ Las Vegas hotel, away from the action – will play a bigger role in the sequel.

“Yeah, he will,” Todd said.

Calling the script about halfway done, Todd added that they hoped to start shooting the film in September for an anticipated 2011 release.