Sherlock Holmes has been bashed and battered by a horde of directors over the years, so what further harm could Guy Ritchie do to the old boy? Ritchie has signed with Warner Brothers to direct a new Holmes film following his current production RocknRolla which, to my persistent dismay, doesn’t seem to be an adaptation of the first Judas Priest album.

Ritchie will rewrite the existing Tony Peckham screenplay, which is based on Lionel Wigram’s Holmes comic book. The idea is to ‘reinvent’ Holmes and that, considering Ritchie’s involvement, could be tiresome. Wigram’s take on the character reportedly emphasizes the detectives boxing and sword skills. Taking the director’s particular proclivities into account, I’d hope we’ll also see a modernized Holmes moving on to crystal meth. Cocaine is so last century.