'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' Set Visit Details

Last month during the Sundance Film Festival, Steve Weintraub from Collider got the chance to visit the set of 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows', during filming outside of London at Waddesdon Manor. The manor was being used as a stand-in to look like a French Renaissance château in Paris.

However, since the film wont be released until December, Warner Bros. has only given him permission to give us a little preview of what he saw on set but stay tuned later this year for full details as well as interviews with obert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, producers Susan Downey and Lionel Wigram, and Guy Ritchie.

I've highlighted some of the more interesting parts but be sure to head over to Collider to read the full report.

"Moriarty (Jared Harris) is sitting at a table inside the Hotel De La Ville in Paris surrounded by people. He’s reading a newspaper inside the cafe. After a few seconds, someone walks in to tell him something. While I can’t hear what they’re saying, the news must be important, as he gets up after hearing it. As he rises out of the chair, the focus of the shot pulls to an old man sitting at a table in the foreground of the frame. The man is unremarkable. He wears a suit of no importance. He has a long grey beard and long grey hair. I didn’t notice him until the camera pulled focus. As Moriarty leaves the room and the man jumps out of his chair, I realize it’s Sherlock Holmes in disguise."

"We also got to watch an outdoor action scene being filmed at the end of our set visit. As we stood around a monitor in a heated tent (it was very cold outside) we watched a dozen horse-drawn carriages and a hundred people react to an explosion that will be added in using CGI. I won’t say anymore than that for now. Just know it was very cool to watch and I can’t wait to see it when the film is completed."

"I think it’s safe to tell you what I thought after spending the entire day on set: I think Sherlock Holmes 2 is going to be even better than the first film – which I loved. One of the reasons I feel this way is due to what Jared Harris told us during his interview. He mentioned that he didn’t want his character to explain everything in some long winded end-of-the-movie speech which lays out all of his plans. He wanted Moriarty to be mysterious. He wanted the audience to be unsure of his reasons."

That's all we have for now but like I said, be sure to watch later this year for Steve's full set visit including all the interviews I mentioned above.

'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' is set to be released later this year on December 16th.