Robert Downey Jr. is a busy guy, with his latest film Tropic Thunder set to release this week, and having the title roles for both Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, and returning to the character of Tony Stark in Iron Man 2, the sequel to this summer's blockbuster. Downey was speaking to the Chicago Sun Times when he dropped some hints about what to expect from both Iron Man 2 and Sherlock Holmes.

About Iron Man 2, Downey revealed the following:

If he said he's Iron Man in the first film, it's one thing to say it and another thing to evolve to a point where you can live in a heroic fashion.

Our goal is also more of the same in Iron Man 2. We want to do what worked for us last time. I'm talking about telling more of the story of a guy put in extraordinary circumstances who has a family now and he's dealing with these forces.

In Iron Man 2 you will be able to understand various points of view about him that are far-reaching while this guy is still grounded in reality.

As exciting as the hints about what to expect from Iron Man 2 are, Downey also had a few surprises to reveal about Sherlock Holmes, beginning with the fact that while the take on the character will be classic, director Guy Ritchie will not be using one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. "It will be director Guy Ritchie's take on Sherlock Holmes," Downey said. "It's a contemporary version of a classic tale. But we're not telling one of the stories from the books." Almost as surprising is the fact that this may feature a more physically active Holmes then we have seen in the past.

"The cool thing about Sherlock is he's a very skilled martial artist," Downey said. "So it's not just about is deductions. This movie will also be a very action-packed version of Sherlock Holmes." Downey further explained, "We're putting together a team of people to do something more transcendent with the fighting for the movie."

While fans are no doubt looking forward to seeing Downey return to action-hero status with Iron Man 2 and Sherlock Holmes, you can check him out in a more humorous action role beginning this weekend when Tropic Thunder hits theatres.