Robert Downey Jr. Confirms Sherlock Holmes Role With Guy Ritchie Directing For Warner Bros.

HollywoodChicago.com — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:04:34 -0600

CHICAGO – While the leap from 2008 blockbuster film “Iron Man” 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.

Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark and Iron Man in 2008’s “Iron Man” (left) and Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes (right) in 1939’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles”.
Image credits: Paramount Pictures (left image) and BBC (right image)

Josh Horowitz at MTV wrote 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: “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: “This is not to be confused with the other 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.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com

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