Is Brad Pitt In Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes? [UPDATED]

UPDATE: So yes, this rumor (which we DID report as rumor) is completely B.S.:

FROM WARNER BROS.: “The report in today’s London Mirror is completely inaccurate. Brad Pitt is not joining the cast of Sherlock Holmes and we’re extremely pleased with the production of the film. As planned, it will be released on Christmas Day, 2009. In order to complete the movie, we’ve scheduled a few days on set to shoot a couple of additional scenes, obtain pick-up shots, and perfect some of the visual effects elements, all of which is standard filmmaking practice.”

Sometimes some movie rumors arise that are so far-fetched that they couldn’t possibly be true.

News now comes that Brad Pitt has been recruited by Guy Ritchie to play Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis Moriarty for reshoots of the forthcoming film – even though stars Robert Downey Jr (Holmes) and Jude Law (Watson) have already completed principal photography. To make matters worse, the film may have also been delayed from its original Christmas release date!

If true, does this mean that the big-budget action movie is in trouble?

Britain’s not always reliable The Mirror newspaper quotes a “source” that says when “movie execs” saw a rough cut of Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes they “ordered” the director to film scenes featuring the legendary villain. Their source states that although the character is mentioned throughout the film, he never actually appears, leaving the “execs” worried that his lack of presence would hurt the film – even though the main villain is Mark Strong’s Lord Blackwood.

The paper also states that the release of the film has been delayed until after Christmas so that Ritchie can shoot the scenes and edit them into the completed film.

Apparently Ritchie contacted Pitt (who starred in the director’s film Snatch), who had free time in his schedule to shoot his scenes as Moriarty. Ten days have allegedly been scheduled for these reshoots with Cliveden House the location for Pitt’s scenes.

So is this rumor true?

It’s not unusual for big films such as this to undergo “pick-ups” when the film is being edited so that scenes can be inserted to help it flow better. It could also be the case that these scenes with Pitt were scheduled all along, and that they were due to be shot when the actor had free time in his schedule.

I can only expect that an announcement will be made soon, if the Sherlock Holmes’ release date has indeed been changed. A change in release would be a major blow to the film as it had been strategically positioned in the lucrative Christmas period and bad press like this can often hurt the “buzz” surrounding a movie.

To be brutally honest: any movie news that comes from a British tabloid has about a 60-40% chance of being totally wrong. If it (somehow) turns out to be true, then it would indicate that the Warner Bros, tentpole film is in trouble, and the last time something like this happened with a major movie it was with Wolverine, and we all know how THAT film turned out…

We’ll let you know when we find out.

Sherlock Holmes is slated for release on (Christmas Day?)