Has Russell Brand Also Been Cast In Sherlock Holmes 2?

Right on the heels of the big story coming out about Sherlock Holmes 2 (namely the report that Mad Men's Jared Harris has been cast to play the evil Professor Moriarty), another big story about the upcoming Guy Ritchie film has arrived. The Daily Mail, one of the UK's notorious tabloids, has posted photos of Russell Brand leaving Ritchie's home and have postulated that the two were discussing a possible role for the comedic actor in the sequel. News about the project started early this week when it was announced that Stephen Fry had been cast as Sherlock's older brother Mycroft and earlier this month Noomi Rapace was given the still-unnamed female lead. The film will see Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law return for the sequel, which is set to start filming soon and is currently scheduled for a December 16, 2011 release date.

Now to discuss the veracity of this story. Brand is one of the biggest celebrities going in the UK right now so you shouldn't put it past one of the tabloids to simply throw it out there. It's entirely possible that Brand's visit to Ritchie's house was a social call. Then again, Brand has also been gathering a lot of projects recently and is already set to be in two films next year (Hop and Arthur). This could very well be Brand taking advantage of his current popularity. Be sure that we'll keep an eye on this story as it develops.