You are not hallucinating. You did not somehow miss the opening of Guy Ritchie’s second Sherlock Holmes film. You also did not imagine that the film seems to focus principally on trees that explode the minute bullets hit them and Robert Downey Jr. cross-dressing more than is probably necessary (at least, that’s what all the marketing seems to hinge upon). Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows will not open until December 16, but Warner Bros. is apparently so pumped on this second outing that they’ve already set a screenwriter for the third film. And they’ve chosen a screenwriter that all of Hollywood already seems pumped on.
Drew Pearce will script the third Sherlock Holmes flick, but not before he finishes up his other big franchise flick three-quel script, for Shane Black’s Iron Man 3. Not content to just pen scripts for series that star Robert Downey Jr. winking his way through established material, Pearce also reportedly contributed to Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim. Wait ‐ so he can do superheroes, super-sleuths, and super-monsters? Who is this guy? If the gigs he’s getting set for are any indication, a huge (and unproven, at least feature-wise) talent with some major geek leanings.
Pearce’s pre-Iron Man 3 resume is a spare one, filled with a UK television series (Lip Service) and the comedy videos shorts for The Committee. But he’s also got a cult hit to his name ‐ UK series No Heroics, the creation of which is likely what set Pearce for another superhero property ‐ the long-in-limbo adaptation of Marvel’s Runaways. Anything else? Oh, just the script for DC’s The Mighty. Drew Pearce may very well be your favorite screenwriter whose work you’ve never actually seen.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows again stars Downey and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson, with new cast members Jared Harris and Noomi Rapace rounding out the cast. The film focuses on the battle of wits (and more) between Holmes and his nemesis Professor Moriarty (Harris). This script was written by Michele Mulroney and Kieran Mulroney. The first Sherlock Holmes opened on Christmas Day 2009, and it proved to be a monster hit for the studio, making over half a billion dollars worldwide. That film’s script included work from Michael Robert Johnson, Anthony Peckham, Simon Kinberg, and Lionel Wigram. [Deadline Bristol]
Related Topics: Iron Man
