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Sherlock Holmes (Ritchieverse)

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Fandom
Name: Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Abbreviation(s): Ritchieverse
Creator: Guy Ritchie (director)
Date(s): December 25, 2009
December 18, 2011 (sequel)
Medium: Live-action Film
Country of Origin: United States
External Links: IMDB
"Holmes with Watson standing behind him, in the background is swirling green lights over Big Ben. Text reads 'Crime Will Pay, Sherlock Holmes, How Far Will You Go To Solve A Mystery, Robert Downey Jr, Jude Law.'"
Sherlock Holmes Poster -2009- fan made poster by marty-mclfy (2009)
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Sherlock Holmes is a 2009 film adaption of Sherlock Holmes, directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. Together with its 2011 sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, it is known by fans as the Ritchieverse.

The highly anticipated 2009 film adaptation produced an instant explosion of fannish creativity and renewed interest in Sherlock Holmes fandom similar to what the Star Trek (2009) film's debut seven months earlier had done for Trek fandom.

Although Sherlock Holmes has been frequently adapted for film and television for decades, a number of factors made this film a magnet for fannish interest: the unusual (for film, at least) characterization of Holmes, the involvement of actors Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, the steampunk aesthetic, and the homoerotic subtext between Holmes and Watson.

A sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, was released in December 2011. A third film in the series has reportedly been in development for years but, as of early 2025, has not begun filming.

Fandom

The fandom was at its height in the year or so following the first film, with the creation of LiveJournal communities (see Holmeswatson09), a gift exchange (hw09_exchange), and a kink meme (Sherlock GQMF Holmes Kink Meme). There was another infusion of fans after the release of its sequel in 2011. The fandom has shrunk considerably since then, but there is still a small community of fans around this film series, and it sporadically gets new fanworks, often times around multifandom Sherlock Holmes exchanges like Holmestice.

The films are also perhaps one of the best known examples of an adaptation created by people who are themselves Sherlock Holmes fans, with Lionel Wigram (who created the story for the first film and co-produced both films), director Guy Ritchie"[1] and actor Jude Law[2] (who had appeared in an episode of the Granada Sherlock Holmes series when he was younger) for example all being Sherlock Holmes fans, with Wigram describing how he "had loved Sherlock Holmes since he was a boy."[3]

Pairings

Like most Sherlock Holmes adaptations, the most popular pairing is Holmes/Watson. However, there are also smaller pairings that have a fan following, the most popular of these is most likely Moriarty/Moran, followed by Adler/Holmes and then canonical couple Mary Morstan/John Watson. There is also some Holmes/Watson/Morstan polyam fanworks, but they tend to be fairly rare. The only femslash pairing of any significance is Adler/Morstan, but this tends to be exceedingly rare.

There is also a fair chunk of gen fanworks, mostly focused on the Holmes & Watson friendship.

Fan Reactions to the Film

Reactions amongst Sherlock Holmes fans

Fans of the films tend to include both fans of Sherlock Holmes more broadly, or what could be termed 'old school' Sherlock Holmes fans essentially, and ones who only really like the films and are not otherwise Sherlock Holmes fans, or what might be termed 'new school' fans. The films have also been a way into the Sherlock Holmes fandom more broadly for some newer fans, with some going on to read the canon and consume other adaptations as a direct result of seeing and enjoying one or both of the films.

Reactions to the films in the Sherlock Holmes fandom more broadly have tended to be mixed, with many fans being highly critical or dismissive towards the films, often deeming them to be too 'action oriented' or claiming they are not canonically faithful and also sometimes criticising the casting of Robert Downey Jr in particular since he is not really seen to resemble Holmes as portrayed in the canon. However, many of the 'old school' Sherlock Holmes fans are also fans of the two films. Even though some do of course still have criticisms, such as about how Irene Adler was portrayed or how she was essentially fridged in the sequel, many of these fans have also praised the films for their takes on various characters and for including countless canonical elements, even some which are commonly erased or ignored even in some adaptations that are usually seen as far more true to the canon, and for the numerous nods within both films to details in earlier adaptations. One fan commented that:

The RDJ version of Sherlock Holmes is hands-down the version that most credibly (and consistently) pays tribute to canon Holmes’s penchant for disguises. Another reason why I think this version – despite the fact that it’s an action-adventure with comedic overtones a la Indiana Jones, despite the fact that (yeah, yeah, we get it; it doesn’t matter) RDJ doesn’t physically resemble the Sherlock Holmes described by Doyle – has its loving and careful roots in canon and is actually VERY CLOSE to the Holmes of the books. Not to mention that Mary Morstan Watson is a kick-ass heroine. THAT’S not in the books, and I don’t care.

 https://hedgehog-goulash7.tumblr.com/post/161861935234

Another fan wrote an entire list of "why ritchie!holmes deserves more credit"[4] which was also expanded on by multiple other fans. And fans of particular canonical side characters such as Mycroft Holmes[5], Professor Moriarty,[6], Sebastian Moran and Mary Morstan have also praised the films for the way these characters were portrayed in them, or the way in which certain relationships such as the John and Mary Watson marriage[7] or the relationship between Moriarty and Moran was portrayed[8] particularly in comparison to other adaptations.

Tied in with the shipping within the fandom, much of the fan focus has often been on the homoerotic subtext within both films, particularly with the two main characters and the most obvious and popular pairing of Holmes/Watson but also for Moriarty/Moran in the second film and sometimes other slash pairings such as Lord Henry Blackwood/Lord Coward from the first film or the enemyslash pairing, Holmes/Moriarty. Even many reviewers, some of them clearly fans of the films, specifically talked about the queer subtext in them, particularly in the sequel,[9][10] and the TV Tropes entry for Ho Yay Moments in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows lists many of the elements in the film which led to many fans affectionately dubbing it 'Sherlock Holmes: A Gay of Shadows.'

  • canonicity, Holmes characterization

Fan Comments

2012

Before the [Robert Downy Sherlock Holmes] movie actually came out, I was a fan of it because some idiot conservative commentator had said that—had heard a grossly exaggerated rumor that the actors were going to kiss in the film, and he was saying, "Ugh, who wants to see that?" (laughs) So immediately, I decided that I wanted to see it! (laughs) And I was a fan. I hadn't seen it yet, but that was okay. And the thing is, I love the film and I love—. Actually, what I really enjoyed were all of the fan vids that came out after that. And I read some of the fan fiction, but I felt—it all felt a bit too modern, so it didn't really feel like Sherlock Holmes. So I didn't — I wasn't as excited about the fan fiction for that movie. [11]

Example Fanworks

Fanfiction

Fanart

Graphics

Fanzines

Doujinshi

Meta

Fanvids

Example Fanart Gallery

Communities

See also List of Sherlock Holmes Communities and Forums

Archives & Links

References

  1. ^ "Guy Ritchie’s obsession with Sherlock Holmes has inspired the design of his £6 million home." from Ritchie’s £6 million Holmes makeover - The Standard, 6th March 2012
  2. ^ "Being a fan of Sherlock Holmes and genuinely intrigued by the casting of Robert Downey Jr. in the titular role, Jude Law came on board to play the super sleuth’s trusty and ever-dependable companion." from Sherlock Holmes at 15: The Story Behind Guy Ritchie’s Weirdly Fascinating Take on the Baker Street Super Sleuth on Flickering Myth, December 25th 2024
  3. ^ "Mr. Wigram said he had loved Sherlock Holmes since he was a boy, when his father read Conan Doyle’s stories aloud to him." from Is That You, Sherlock? in The New York Times, Jan. 21st 2009 (archived page)
  4. ^ "a non-exhaustive list of reasons why ritchie!holmes deserves more credit" by mydearsigerson on tumblr
  5. ^ "also. Fat Mycroft. I think Granada was the only other adaptation that had fat mycroft." disgruntled-detectives on tumblr
  6. ^ "It’s the only adaptation I can think of that showed Moriarty actually being a professor, and they incorporated his book (I can think of only one other adaptation that did something like that)" Tiger Moran on tumblr
  7. ^ "they deserve credit for being the only Victorian adaptation to actually show John and Mary’s wedding" - a-candle-for-sherlock.tumblr.com
  8. ^ "Also it’s one of the very few to acknowledge proper closeness between Moriarty and Moran" Tiger Moran on tumblr
  9. ^ "I love that this movie exudes a feeling of “yeah, this is totally gay and you love it.” Because we do love it! The rapport between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law is spicier and more believable than what you see between the leads in most romantic comedies." Annalee Newitz in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is Gayer, Steamier, and Explodier Than Before, Dec 16th 2011 on gizmodo.com
  10. ^ "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (and how’s that for a loaded title?) is like one of those ’40s mysteries—Rebecca or Laura, say—in which the homosexual subtext completely pervades the movie" - Richard Knight, Jr. in Knight at the Movies: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy for Windy City Times, Dec 14th 2011
  11. ^ from Fan Fiction Oral History Project with Aethel (2012)
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