CHICAGO – While the leap from 2008 blockbuster film “Iron Man [1]” to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s titular mega sleuth wouldn’t seem the most logical next move for “A”-lister Robert Downey Jr., he will indeed play perhaps the most famed detective in literary history: Sherlock Holmes.
Guy Ritchie (“Revolver,” “Snatch,” “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels”) will direct the film for Warner Bros. Early reaction to the announcement worries some film pundits.
Image credits: Paramount Pictures (left image) and BBC [2] (right image)
Josh Horowitz at MTV wrote [3] moments ago: “[Robert Downey Jr.] will surely make something arresting and innovative out of the part, but … does it have to be helmed by Guy? Does anything on his resume give you hope he has a Sherlock tale in him? I worry.”
The Hollywood Reporter adds [4]: “The movie, which will shoot in the fall, takes its cue from a forthcoming comic book that producer Lionel Wigram wrote as a selling tool for a new take on the classic character. The concept sees Holmes as more adventurous and less stuffy than previous screen incarnations and mines more obscure character traits.”
E! Online reminds us [5]: “This is not to be confused with the other [6] awesome-sounding Arthur Conan Doyle-inspired film Judd Apatow is producing for Columbia Pictures with Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell set to star as [Sherlock] Holmes and Dr. Watson.”
The Robert Downey Jr.-starring and Guy Ritchie-directed Sherlock Holmes film is slated to begin filming in Oct. 2008 with a release date in 2010.
 [7] | By ADAM FENDELMAN [8] |