Sherlock Holmes 2: Everything We Know

The sequel was fast-tracked after the success of the original

You’ve got to hand it to Warner Brothers…they clearly know their market. Before Sherlock Holmes was released at the back end of last year, the naysayers were predicting a box office bomb, what with cinemagoers feeling the pinch and the Avatar juggernaut having only been released one week previously. However, the $90 million-budgeted actioner outdid all predictions, racking up a staggering worldwide gross of more than $523 million, more than enough to convince Warner that a second helping was called for…

Indeed, so impressed were the studio with Holmes’ performance, they decided that not only was a sequel in order but work should begin on it right away. However, with director Guy Richie already slated to commence work on DC adaptation Lobo , and Joel Silver also set to produce, surely Warner would have to wait?

Apparently not, according to Silver, who explains that Lobo was shelved pretty much as soon as Warner dropped them a line. “I don’t think (we’re) going to do it now,” said the producer to the LA Times. “The studio wants us to focus on making another Sherlock Holmes, so I think we’re going to be doing that.”

“Sherlock is sitting at just about $400 million in worldwide gross,” he continued, “and showing itself to be pretty effective and pretty strong. So we’re trying to see if we can do something quickly with another Sherlock Holmes movie. We have some ideas and some good story points.”

“Quickly” is the operative word here, as Warner were keen to have a second film knocked together in time for a Christmas release in 2011. Fortunately, they had set the wheels in motion for a potential sequel long before the first film had even hit our screens…

The writers went to work on part two before Sherlock Holmes was even released...

Keen to have a contingency plan in place in case they had a hit on their hands, Warner instructed writers Michele and Kieran Mulroney to begin work on a new script before the first one had seen the light of day. “They just came to us and said, “do you want to do the sequel?” said Michelle to Collider. “It’s very, very exciting and interesting and a challenge.”

“It’s going to be a fun movie,” she continues. “I grew up with those Conan Doyle books, so for me, to be involved in writing this is so great. These characters have always been part of my childhood. The Watson and Holmes characters are just delicious, and of course, we have those two great actors to bring them to life, Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. It’s a really interesting process we’re neck deep in right now.”

Plot details are predictably being kept under wraps, but Kieran can confirm that there will be plenty more of the swashbuckling action that powered the first movie. “We tend to write big action sequence stuff,” he says, somewhat unnecessarily. “It’ll still be a nice big whopping studio film.”

So with the original writers and director in place, all that remained was to make sure Sherlock himself was on side. Happily for all concerned, he most certainly is…

Downey Junior is back in the title role...

For all Warner’s forward-planning with the script, the whole thing would have fallen flat had Downey not been happy to come back on board. Happily, the star was not only keen to come back, he’d been doing his homework too.

“I’m doing Sherlock Holmes again” he told journalists, “so I’m going back and reading all the Conan Doyle books again. I just finished them, so I’m gonna start over again, at Volume 1.” Impressive stuff, particularly coupled with his determination that Sherlock Holmes 2 should not just be another lazy cash-in.

"There's always room for improvement,” he explains, “and as a matter of fact, that's the great thing about seeing a film in success. A film in failure, you only see exactly what the audience thought was wrong, and you need to regroup. With Sherlock , we had success and the audience responded to it, but we also saw room for improvement."

All of which sounds very promising, but would Downey be doing it alone, or would he have his partner in crime Jude Law along for the ride? What do you think?

Jude Law returns as Watson...

It was never really in doubt that Jude would be re-donning the bowler hat, given how much fun was apparently had on the set of the original.

“We had such a blast making that film, it was just a very happy experience,” he told journalists at a Repo Men press junket. “I know you probably always sit in front of actors and they say, 'We had the best time,’ but it was very good, I promise! I haven't always had the best time but I did on that one.”

So was a sequel always on the cards then? Well apparently it was a bit of a talking point from the word go.

“We were very aware that we had a hell of a lot more material to use,” continues Law. “Conan Doyle wrote over 15 books, and there was so much to take from. Because of our enthusiasm for the project, once we knew it was doing well financially, we all started throwing in our ideas of where it could go and what should happen next. Mine of course involved Sherlock Holmes being locked in a box and Dr. Watson taking the spotlight....”

That said, being keen on an idea doesn’t always translate into a tangible result, particularly when financial wrangling comes into play. However, Law insists that once the project was mooted as a reality, he was never going to turn it down.

"I had so much fun making Sherlock Holmes that the question of how much money it would make just wasn't one of my priorities,” gushed Law earlier this year. “I was really pleased it was such a success but mostly because that has given me the opportunity to work with Robert and Guy again."

That’s your heroes in place then, but who will they be tangling with in round two? Go on, have a guess…

Holmes will face-off with Moriarty...

That’s right, the sequel will see Holmes squaring up to his most famous enemy, the mysterious and diabolical Moriarty. The character made a fleeting appearance in the original, and speculation was rife that a former Richie-collaborator was set to bring him fully to life in round two.

After a string of Chinese whispers put the question on everybody’s lips, The Hollywood Reporter broke cover with claims that Brad Pitt had begun preliminary talks with Richie over taking the role. With Warner having already denied reshoots had taken place to include Pitt in the original film, it finally seemed as though the Snatch pairing of Guy and Brad were set to be reunited at last.

And then after all the excitement, nothing came of it. Pitt was not announced as the new Moriarty, and instead the rumour mill began throwing new names into the mix, with Daniel Day Lewis one of the more outlandish proposals supposedly under consideration.

So is it Day Lewis, or is it Pitt? Well it’s neither actually. In fact, you may not have even heard of our Mr. Moriarty at all…

Jared Harris is Moriarty...

Despite all the rumours linking various Hollywood mega-stars with the role, Richie has decided to go British by plumping for Jared Harris, whose most notable big-screen performance to date was a small role in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button .

That said, as the offspring of screen icon Richard Harris, he’s hardly an unknown, and you’ll probably recognise him from the small screen, where he took a starring role as Mad Men ’s resident buttoned-down Brit Lane Pryce.

Given that Moriarty is a shadowy, elusive figure, we think that casting a lesser-known actor sits rather better with the character than a high-profile Hollywood “name”. Not only that, but Harris should bring a touch of authentic English poise to this most debonair of villains.

Mind you, he won’t be the only one bringing a home-grown flavour to proceedings, with a rather more familiar face also signing up for a starring role…

Stephen Fry is Mycroft...

Yep, in a brilliant bit of casting that should do wonders for his profile Stateside, Stephen Fry has been confirmed as Holmes’ older brother Mycroft. And understandably, he’s rather excited about the whole thing.

I play Sherlock Holmes' brother,” said Fry to Comingsoon.net. “The smarter brother, I hasten to add! Historically he’s a very interesting character, and as a lover of Sherlock Holmes since I was a boy, I've always enjoyed that character myself. I hope that people enjoy it. It's certainly been fun to make.”

Somehow we can’t imagine reknowned wit and raconteur Stephen Fry having much to say to loveable wideboy Guy Ritchie, but according to Fry, the director was a joy to work with.

“I love the way that Guy uses the camera,” he says. “I love the fluency and speed and the wit and the drive of it. It's not exactly Steampunk, but there's a very 21st century angle on Victorian England. It's what's known in the Sherlock business as non-canonical. It's not based on the books, it's based on the idea of the characters and the relationships.”

And what of Holmes himself? Surely a purist such as Fry would be concerned at an American taking on such a quintessentially English part? Not a bit of it. “He's such a charismatic and likeable screen presence, Robert, that you very soon forget it,” says Fry. “More than most, he owns every second of screen time. He's just wonderfully likeable. He's the real thing.”

Well said sir!

Rachel McAdams may return, but not in a major role...

It’s all a bit of a muddle when it comes to whether Rachel McAdams will or won’t be reprising her role as the feisty Irene Adler. When the sequel was first announced, Joel Silver told Sci-Fi Wire that “she’ll be present”, before Downey Junior clouded the issue by remarking that, “Irene Adler only appeared in one of the (original) stories.”

The best person to ask of course would be McAdams herself, but the actress seemed none the wiser when MTV quizzed her on the issue a few weeks ago.

“It's kind of all still in the process," she said. "They're still doing script work, so we'll see.” However, given that the film had already begun shooting a couple of weeks prior to these comments, it doesn’t seem likely that she’ll have a large part to play. Indeed, McAdams says herself, “If I do (appear), it won't be a very big thing...it won’t be a lead part.”

So who will the female lead be? Someone you might not have been expecting, as it goes…

Noomi Rapace will play the female lead...

After making a lot of noise about resisting the call of mainstream Hollywood, Noomi Rapace has finally given in and will be making her English-language debut as Sherlock’s female foil. Official details are sparse, but Rapace has let a few tidbits slip as to what we can expect from her character.

“I’m doing a lot of research about gypsies,” she told ScreenRant recently. “I’m going to Paris to visit some gypsy camps, and I’m going to Transylvania to actually see how they live. (Apparently) they live pretty much the same now as they did then, and they keep in the traditions and all of that, so when you go to Transylvania, for example, they live pretty close to the way they lived hundreds of years ago. So I’m listening to gypsy music and I’m learning to sing and dance.”

So, just to clarify, she’s a gypsy. That’s about all we know at this stage, but given Rapace’s previous work in the Millenium trilogy, we’d wager her character will know how to handle herself.

Her character’s origins are interesting though. Would Holmes’ path cross with a French traveller in London, or would such a meeting have to happen a little further afield?

Holmes will go globetrotting...

According to Downey Junior, Sherlock Holmes 2 will see Holmes and Watson do a fair bit of travelling, with a couple of locations already pencilled into the agenda.

“Yes, I think we'll be abroad," he told MTV. "A bit of Paris, a bit of Switzerland by the end, if I'm not mistaken." However, whilst such picturesque locations should help grant the sequel a greater scope than its predecessor, there will still be plenty of home-grown touches to keep the story rooted in its origins.

Indeed, the Sherlock crew recently decamped to the Severn Valley to film a series of scenes around the Severn Valley Railway. A vintage train sporting a sign marked “Paddington” was spotted by eagle-eyed photographers, whilst reports claim to have spied a scene in which a woman falls from the historic Victoria Bridge into the River Severn. A soggy welcome to the party for Miss Rapace perhaps?

In any case, the location shots should look pretty spectacular, and may yet be coming your way in three shiny dimensions…

3D has been discussed...

Somewhat inevitably given the money at stake, Warner are thought to be toying with the idea of presenting the film in 3D. Although there has been no firm announcement either way, (which would suggest that if it is present, it will be added in when shooting has finished) it’s an idea that Kieran Mulroney for one is open to.

“The wind keeps moving in that direction,” said Mulroney of 3D filmmaking in general. “Sherlock would be great in 3D.” It would certainly lend itself to the pounding action sequences of the first film, which Mulroney asserts are true to the origins of the character. “From all the stories, he was a brawler and he had martial arts training,” says the writer. “He didn't smoke a curvy pipe!”

Well, pipe or no pipe, Sherlock himself is another who can see the potential of a three-dimensional spruce-up, with Downey Junior suggesting the studio would be foolish not to consider it.

“Certainly, if you don't (consider it), then you don't have that option,” said the star to MTV. “If the last six months have shown anything, it's that audiences like options, and they will take advantage of them. And you're leaving a bunch of dough on the table if you don't shoot something in 3D.”

We really wouldn’t be surprised to see it happen to be honest. As Downey so eloquently points out, if there’s one thing that studios hate, it’s leaving dough on the table...

Sherlock will take on Ethan Hunt at the box office...

Sherlock Holmes 2 is currently pencilled in for a release date of December 16th 2011, putting it in direct competition with the fourth instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise.

On paper, you would think that this was a slightly foolhardy choice on Warner’s part, but given that the original film came out just one week after Avatar , they perhaps have reason to be bullish. After all, Sherlock is the fresher franchise, suggesting that maybe Paramount should be the ones to reconsider their position.

Either way it should make for a fascinating showdown as Hollywood heavyweights Tom Cruise and Robert Downey Junior face-off for their share of the Christmas box-office spoils. And from what we’ve gleaned about Sherlock 2 , we reckon RDJ should back himself all the way…