Crowe Wants Watson & Ritchie Calls BS!

The Sun is reporting today that Guy Ritchie and Russell Crowe are very close to signing a deal that will have Crowe playing Dr. Watson in the Guy Ritchie's adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, which already has Robert Downey Jr cast as Sherlock Holmes. The Sun's source says, “Russell wants the part, Guy wants Russell. All they’ve got left to do is dot the i’s and cross the t’s.” Crowe has time to do the film because his fifth straight film with Ridley Scott, Nottingham has been put on hiatus.

Today Empire Online caught up with Ritchie at his recent press tour for RocknRolla and asked if there was any truth to the rumor. Ritchie quickly fired back by saying, "I don’t have a Watson...Somebody just told me that I have Russell Crowe lined up but that’s news to me. I suspect that hasn’t happened and I’m still looking for my Watson.”

Robert Downey Jr. had a few things to say about the style that Ritchie is looking at with his Holmes adaptation. “I’ve got to spend some time with Guy and I love his take on it. We’re both martial arts enthusiasts and in the original stories of Sherlock Holmes, he’s kind of a bad-ass and a bare-knuckle boxer and studies the rare fictional martial art of baritsu. If you look baritsu up, they can’t even really tell you what it is, so it gives us a lot of leeway.” So Holmes will be putting down his pipe and spy-glass and picking up a sword instead.

The film is set to begin shooting next month and is scheduled for a 2009 release. The biggest question about this Russell Crowe rumor, is would Crowe play second fiddle to Robert Downey Jr.? Crowe is generally the lead in most of his films, but he was not the main lead in his last two Scott films, American Gangster and the upcoming Body of Lies. So he could possibly be playing the side-kick to Holmes and while Ritchie had said, he doesn't have his Watson yet, the idea of Crowe might have perked his ears a tad.


What are your thoughts on this rumor? Do you think Crowe would play a side-kick?