From the start, we’ve known that Guy Ritchie‘s upcoming new vision of Sherlock Holmes was being built up with hopes of it becoming a huge franchise. Not to waste any time, Warner Brothers has brought in Kieran and Michele Mulroney to begin scripting the sequel an entire three months before the first film is released in theaters.

The move is pretty interesting, to say the least. The first movie was written by Michael Robert Johnson and Anthony Peckham, both of which had little experience: Peckham has a few credits including Don’t Say A Word, while Sherlock is Johnson’s first and only credit. This new pair of writers doesn’t seem to have much more experience with a few lesser-known titles and a handful of small acting roles. This is a move that could possibly lead people to believe that producers were not happy with the first movie and are looking to improve with the second. There’s a chance that Johnson and Peckham just had other projects lined up, but with this being set up as said franchise, that’s unlikely.

It is also mentioned in this report that Brad Pitt — once rumored to be shooting a cameo as the villain Moriarty — has indeed at least spoken to producers. When this rumor first broke, WB released a statement stating that all reports were false. This seemed legit, but it also appeared that a Moriarty cameo was being put together to set up the sequel. With this new news claiming that Pitt did talk to producers, don’t be too shocked if you hear more about this soon. If you’re not caught up with the Brad Pitt rumors, catch up by reading the initial story (Read: [Updated] Check That: Brad Pitt Not Joining The Cast Of “˜Sherlock Holmes’)

The movie stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Mark Strong, and Rachel McAdams. It will be released on Christmas Day of this year.

[Source: THR]