With the first Sherlock Holmes movie featuring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law not even out in theaters until this Christmas, it looks as if Warner Bros. is already hard at work developing a sequel. This second installment is reportedly bringing writers Kieran and Michele Mulroney, currently working on the studio’s Justice League: Mortal, on board to pen a draft of the new script. In addition to that news, it seems the studio has its eye on a very well known actor to portray Holmes’ arch nemesis Moriarty in the film: Brad Pitt.
In case you’re not familiar with this updated take on Holmes, its more of an action-heavy rendition of the Sir Arthur Conan Doyle creation and features Downey, Jr. as the title character, Jude Law as Watson and Rachel McAdams as love interest Irene Adler. The film is directed by Guy Ritchie who may return for the sequel as well as most, if not all, of the original cast.
Developing sequels to films not yet released seems to be more of a trend these days in order to shorten the time between installments of a new franchises. Plus, developing sequels early is also relatively low cost for the studio because only writers need to begin work at this stage while other deals for talent and director are being worked out. It makes sense, especially for a film like Holmes, which based on the trailers released so far and what we saw of it at the recent Comic-Con in San Diego, looks to be a monster hit.
The first Sherlock Holmes hits theaters on December 25th. The next chapter? Maybe sooner than we think.
