Sony is reportedly developing a spoof Sherlock Holmes movie starring Will Ferrell and John C Reilly called Holmes and Watson.
Variety has revealed that the film will feature the two comedic actors, who were successfully paired together in Talladega Nights (2006) and Step Brothers (2008), as the world famous detective and his trusted sidekick Dr. Watson.
Etan Cohen, who directed Ferrell in Get Hard (2015) opposite Kevin Hart, will helm Holmes and Watson from his own script. The filmmaker made his name in Hollywood penning screenplays for Tropic Thunder (2008) and Men in Black III (2012).
Almost nothing is known about the story, including whether it will be set in Victorian England, like author Arthur Conan Doyle’s original novels and short stories, or in the modern day like recent small screen adaptations BBC’s Sherlock and CBS’s Elementary.
A comedic adaptation of Doyle’s subject matter has been done before. Without a Clue (1988) starred Michael Caine as Sherlock - a bumbling fraud who relied on the genius of Ben Kingsley’s Watson. While the movie was not a commercial success, it did gain a following on VHS.
Ferrell and Reilly’s picture is the latest in a seemingly never-ending stream of Sherlock screen adaptations. Aside from the small screen versions, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Milller respectively, there is also Guy Ritchie’s blockbuster franchise starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law which has spawned two box office hits, and a planned third film. Sir Ian McKellen also played an elderly version of the super-sleuth in the critically acclaimed Mr. Holmes (2015).
Stay tuned for more Holmes and Watson news.
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