FAME PICTURESRobert Downey Jr. has elected to put this role in his pipe and smoke it.
E! News confirmed Wednesday that the Iron Man star has commited to playing the titular sleuth in the upcoming Sherlock Holmes, which Guy Ritchie plans to direct for Warner Bros.
This is not to be confused with the other awesome-sounding Arthur Conan Doyle-inspired film Judd Apatow is producing for Columbia Pictures, with Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell set to star as Holmes and Dr. Watson.
Which, incidentally, will be a comedy.
Downey, who had shown early interest in the flick, decided to take up mystery solving after Ritchie showed him the Anthony Peckham-penned script rewrite.
In addition to Conan Doyle's tales, Ritchie's film will also incorporate the Sherlock Holmes comics series, which painted the detective as more of a muscly action hero who just happened to be far more brilliant than his peers—and, most importantly, his adversaries.
Which sounds like a job for Iron Man to us.
Cameras are set to roll in October with an eye on a 2010 release date.
(Originally published July 9, 2008 at 7:17 p.m. PT.)