Stephen Fry Cast in Sherlock Holmes 2

Stephen Fry announced on the Danny Baker Show for BBC Radio 5 that he will be portraying Mycroft Holmes in the upcoming sequel to 2009’s Sherlock Holmes.

In the books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Mycroft Holmes is Sherlock’s older brother, who is more intelligent, but lazier and is less ambitious than his younger sibling.

Fry joins Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law (whom Fry had previously worked with in Wilde) and Rachel McAdams who are all reprising their roles in the as yet untitled sequel.  Earlier this month, Swedish actress Noomi Rapace (Lisbeth in the original in Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) was signed on to the project reportedly as the female lead, a “French Gypsy”.

During the interview at BBC Radio 5, Fry told Baker “I’m playing Mycroft in the sequel to the Sherlock Holmes film Guy Ritchie directed with Robert Downey Jr and that sort of part is fun.”

While there have been rumors on who will play Holmes’ arch nemesis as of yet, the role of Moriarty has not been cast. No word on when Sherlock Holmes 2 begins production, but with a scheduled release date of December 16, 2011, expect an more production and casting announcements shortly.