This is the rumour moving across the internets tonight and it’s shone the spotlight on Guy Ritchie’s fast tracked sequel to his take on Sherlock Holmes.
There will no doubt be an inclination on the part of Warner Bros to expand on the unexpected success of the first film and that means delving deeper into the Holmes mythology, and given his shadowbound presence in the first film you can bet that Guy Ritchie will look to bring Professor Moriarty to the fore in the sequel.
There was an early rumour that Brad Pitt was set to play Holmes’s rival (and this rumour did the rounds before the film was even released), but this name has been swept aside as SuperHeroHype have an unconfirmed report that Ritchie is courting Daniel Day-Lewis for the role.
Day-Lewis would be a great choice in pretty much any role, and his recent involvement in Rob Marshall’s Nine illustrates that he has no problem stepping into more commercial shoes, and once you conjure the image of a Day-Lewis shaped Moriarty it’s hard to shake.
Sean Penn, Javier Bardem and Gary Oldman are also in the frame according to the unnamed source, but of course they are – this is a studio’s wish list for an iconic villain, and the team of Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law certainly sold the first film to many people so another big name makes sense. It’s just a shame that Ritchie can’t cast Mark Strong again.
So, who do you want to see pitting wits against Messrs. Downey Jr. and Law?
