Holmes Meets His Match: Stephen Fry Cast As Mycroft Holmes In Sherlock Sequel

As the eldest of four, I can assure you with no trepidation that older brothers are, to a man, not only inevitably smarter than their siblings but also completely insufferable as they remind their siblings of their inherent inferiority to the first born boy. Which is why casting Stephen Fry as Sherlock Holmes' older brother Mycroft is such a stellar decision.

As Coming Soon reported, Fry announced his role on BBC 5, calling it "a genuine all round sort of lead figure with complexity and tragedy and wit." Which is all well and good, but there are two things that Stephen Fry immediately brings to the table: a stunning and obvious intelligence, and a palpable disdain for anything he considers beneath him. If you've ever heard him speak or read any of his articles, you know that Fry has the suffer-no-fools schtick down pat.

In the stories, Mycroft is even more intelligent that his younger brother Sherlock, but unlike Sherlock, Mycroft is far too indolent to ever spring into action. Consider how much action they put Sherlock in for the first movie -- judo chops! fight clubs! 'splosions! -- I actually can kind of understand Mycroft's reticence to leap into the fray.

Between casting the ferociously intelligent Fry as Mycroft and Noomi Rapace as the female lead, this may be the rare sequel that's better than the first installment.

· Stephen Fry to Play Mycroft in Sherlock Holmes 2 [Coming Soon]