Ian McKellen to play elderly Sherlock Holmes

Sir Ian Mckellen is the latest Brit to tackle the role of Sherlock Holmes, following in the footsteps of Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller. The veteran thespian will play an elderly version of the enigmatic sleuth in A Slight Trick of the Mind, in which Holmes is haunted by his unsolved cases.
McKellen will reteam with his Gods and Monsters director Bill Condon on the project, which is based on the novel by Mitch Cullin.
Production will begin next spring (14).
McKellen is the latest actor to play Holmes in recent years – Cumberbatch stars as the wily detective in U.K. TV series Sherlock, Lee Miller plays him in U.S. drama Elementary, and Robert Downey, Jr. brought the role to life on the big screen in Guy Ritchie’s blockbusters in 2009 and 2011.