Just as Sherlock Holmes had his Moriarty, so Guy Ritchie has his Sacha Baron Cohen. Barely a month after the announcement that the British director is to shoot an “all action” Holmes adventure tale comes news of a rival project spearheaded by the Borat creator. Columbia Pictures’ as yet untitled production will star Baron Cohen as the great detective and Will Ferrell as Dr Watson, his endlessly admiring assistant. Variety reports that the film is being scripted by Tropic Thunder author Etan Cohen and will be co-produced by Judd Apatow.
While Ritchie insists that his version will “take advantage of [Holmes’s] skills as a boxer and swordsman”, the Columbia project looks set to take a more comedic stance.
Well, duh.
(Technorati tags: Sherlock Holmes, Sacha Baron Cohen, Will Ferrell)
Plus of course there’s the Steven Moffat / Mark Gatiss BBC series, although presumably that’s rather on the back-burner now.
Although Moffat was still discussing it in interviews earlier this year, when he already knew he had his big new job coming up, so maybe not. We shall see.
i’ll just keep watching house, thank you…
Wow!
Dueling Sherlock Holmes films! My only question is, which version will have a Moriarty capable of outsmarting Data?
I’m guessing the Moffat version, in which he will be played by the supremely underrated Michael Sheen (whom I also tap to the play a future incarnation of Doctor Who, or maybe the Master)…
Rumor has it that none other than Robert Downey Jr. will be the ace detective for Ritchie.