Given the hype surrounding Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, it was never going to be long before shots of Robert Downey Jr as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's great detective made it into the public domain. But while Ritchie has made it clear that the dearstalker hat and tweed combo beloved of past adaptations is out, it will still be a pretty huge shock if Downey Jr's outfit ends up being anything like that seen in these pictures, which were posted over the weekend on justjared.com.
One suspects the film-makers may be having a little fun here by shooting out of sequence to confuse the watching paparazzi. Could Downey Jr's clothing be some sort of disguise worn by Holmes during his adventures?
These more recent pictures, which mainly focus on Jude Law as Dr Watson, would tend to back up that conclusion. Downey Jr is looking a lot more suave and sophisticated.
Ritchie is promising an "all-action" Holmes, with a strong focus on the detective's skills as a boxer and swordsman. His film is being fast-tracked in an effort to beat a rival comedic take, starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Holmes and Will Ferrell as Watson, into cinemas. Will you be first in the queue when it hits our screens some time in October 2009?
