There are some great comedic duos in the modern age of cinema, but there are few that rival the love and success thatWill FerrellandJohn C. Reillyhave managed to obtain. The pair have been wanting to team up again for quite some time, and they finally are. It isn’t for aStep Brotherssequel though, as one might expect.FerrellandReillywill be taking on the classic duo of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson with the new movieHolmes & Watson.
The news comes courtesy ofDeadlineand reveals that the new movie is happening over at Sony Pictures.Holmes & Watsonis said to be taking on the characters made famous bySir Arthur Conan Doyle, but will be putting a PG-13 comedic spin on it.Ferrellwill be re-teaming with another recent collaborator, as the report also notes thatEtan Cohenwill be directing the movie, who directedGet Hardlast year.
Will Ferrellwill be playing the role of Sherlock Holmes in the movie, andJohn C. Reillywill be taking on the part of his faithful sidekick John Watson. The project has reportedly been in development for quite some time, and originally hadSacha Baron Cohenattached instead ofReilly. It reportedly stalled, and eventuallyCohenmoved on. According to Deadline, onceReillygot on board, the project came back together very quickly over the last few weeks. Now Sony is very motivated to get it going, and since everyone is available,Holmes & Watsonwill be heading into production this fall just afterThanksgiving.
The comedic pair ofJohn C. ReillyandWill Ferrellfirst teamed up ten years ago forTalladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. The movie did pretty well at the box office, bringing in just shy of $163 million worldwide, but it fared very well with fans and critics and found a large audience over the years. The pair had another hit in 2008 withStep Brothers, which was directed byAdam McKay. The movie brought in $128 million worldwide, and fans have been wanting them to team up again ever since. Many likely didn’t picture that team up as being aSherlock Holmesmovie, but that is the case.
For one reason or another, not the least of which is that theSherlock Holmesworks are in the public domain, there are a lot of various projects involving the famous detective currently happening. BBC’s hit showSherlockis currently filming its fourth season, and there have been persistent reports thatGuy Ritchiewill be making a follow up toSherlock Holmes: A Game of ShadowswithRobert Downey Jr.andJude Law. In addition, CBS is airing a new season ofElementaryin October, andSir Ian McKellenstarred as an older version of the character inMr. Holmeslast year. There is no word yet on an anticipated release date forHolmes & Watson.
