Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Interviews

At the tail-end of 2010, IGN headed to a Hertfordshire country pile to visit the set of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Guy Ritchie's eagerly anticipated sequel to his 2009 smash-hit.

We've already written a preview piece of that visit, but since that time the following synopsis and trailer have hit the wires...

Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room... until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large - Professor Moriarty - and not only is he Holmes' intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade, points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder - a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by one Professor Moriarty.

Mixing business with pleasure, Holmes tracks the clues to an underground gentlemen's club, where he and his brother, Mycroft Holmes, are toasting Dr. Watson on his last night of bachelorhood. It is there that Holmes encounters Sim, a Gypsy fortune teller, who sees more than she is telling and whose unwitting involvement in the prince's murder makes her the killer's next target. Holmes barely manages to save her life and, in return, she reluctantly agrees to help him. The investigation becomes ever more dangerous as it leads Holmes, Watson and Sim across the continent, from England to France to Germany and finally to Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead as he spins a web of death and destruction - all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.

So far, so intriguing, and now we can bring you the rest of our coverage, featuring interviews with Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris and producers Lionel Wigram and Susan Downey, discussing everything from bringing Moriarty to life to staying true to author Arthur Conan Doyle's original stories.

But first up, here's writer-director Guy Ritchie to set the scene and explain why he thought it would be a good time to re-visit the world of Holmes and Watson.

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Why make a Sherlock sequel?

Guy Ritchie: We enjoyed the last one so much it would seem churlish not to return and do another one... We've pretty much reached the end of this one, and it's been great. I like filming in the UK - I'll sleep in my own bed, which I'm really happy about. It's been a pleasure doing this one.

What are you doing differently this time?

Ritchie: Just trying to make a better film than we did last time. I'd like to be more eloquent than that, but that's essentially our goal. We found the identity of the relationship in the last one and we'd like to big that up so to speak. We'd like to try to improve the action a bit, and their relationship a bit, and the significance of the plot.

What about Moriarty?

Ritchie: It's nice to have Moriarty. He's arguably the most infamous, intellectual villain ever, so that's been a bit of a challenge. But it's great to have Jared [Harris]. As I keep telling him every day, he is significantly evil, and he finds that most flattering.

What's Moriarty doing?

Ritchie: It's very bad. It's very bad. I'm not going to tell you, but it's very bad.

What does Noomi Rapace bring to the mix?

Ritchie: Well I'm a big fan of Noomi and she's mucked on in with the best of them. She fits in really well. And she's tough.

Are you trying to do things differently this time around or keep things the same?

Ritchie: I think a bit of both. We've tried to maintain and hold onto the identity of the relationship of the last one, but at the same time take it on and evolve that relationship. In part my main priority was the interaction between those two [Holmes and Watson]. And that's still what I really care about. So we've tried to hold onto that and we've tried to augment it and improve it.