Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote more than 56 short stories and four novels covering the canon of one Mr. Sherlock Holmes of 221B Baker Street. The famous London detective and his faithful companion Dr. Watson had many adventures, including "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle," "The Adventure of the Engineer's Thumb," and "The Adventure of the Second Stain," NONE of which would make compelling 21st century blockbuster movie titles.
Thus, E! Online is reporting that Warner Bros.' second installment of Guy Ritchie-style Holmes will be titled "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows."
It's an appropriately mysterious, broad moniker for a movie series that plays up the action/cliffhanger beats of the character, and promises the thrills and explosions of the previous entry.
While many fans of Doyle are up in arms about the name, it would be ridiculous to expect Warner Bros. to actually approve of a $100-million+ movie with an original Doyle title like "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box," which would be perfect if it was called "Sherlock Homeless," or "The Five Orange Pips," which sounds like a 60's doo-wop group.
Nevertheless, "A Game of Shadows" joins other franchises like "Transformers: Dark of the Moon " and "Mission: Impossible Ghost Protocol " in the battle to see whose subtitle sounds more like a novel you get at the airport Duty Free. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Robert Downey Jr. once again headlines as the eponymous crimesolver, Jude Law returns as hetero lifemate Watson, and newcomers Jared Harris, Stephen Fry & Noomi Rapace round out the cast of "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," which bows Dec. 16.
For the full rules of how to play "A Game of Shadows," or if you've lost any of your gamepieces, please write to Milton Bradley.
