In the unstoppable sequel to Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, the master of Brit wit, Stephen Fry, has signed on to play Sherlock’s older (and often smarter) brother, Mycroft Holmes, where he’ll join Noomi Rapace (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo).
“Considering Robert Downey Jr.’s Holmes is a grungy low-class brawler, it’ll be fun to see Fry, who Bleeding Cool fittingly describes as “the pop cultural embodiment of esoteric erudition,” play foil. Though what would that leave Watson?”
Fry broke this news himself on the BBC’s 5 Live radio show, where he quipped:
“I’m playing Mycroft in the sequel to the Sherlock Holmes film Guy Ritchie directed with Robert Downey Jr., and that sort of part is fun, but just once in a while to play a genuine all round sort of lead figure with complexity and tragedy and wit and all the sort of things that Oscar [Wilde] had was a once in a lifeftime thrill.”
If you haven’t seen his Wilde, rent it immediately. It’s a decent biopic with excellent performances by several actors before they were stars, among them Jude Law and Michael Sheen, and rising star Jennifer Ehle.
As Sherlock Holmes 2 shapes up, many are speculating on who will fill the role of the dastardly Moriarty. Daniel Day Lewis? Derren Brown? Sadly, there’s no news on this yet. But for me – with Fry on board, I’d love to see his old comedy partner, House star, Hugh Laurie take on the iconic nemesis of Holmes.
With the film slated to begin production this fall, the announcement on Moriarty should surface soon. We’ll keep you informed.
Sherlock Holmes 2 will hit theaters December 16, 2011.
Who would you like to see play Moriarty?