Sherlock Holmes Pictures

Sherlock Holmes is back to tackle his most daunting case yet, in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The brilliant detective (played brilliantly by Robert Downey Jr.) will be forced to put all of his considerable wits to use, if he hopes to thwart the evil machinations of criminal mastermind Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris).

Along for the ride this time are Holmes’ dutiful associate Dr. Watson (Jude Law), love interest/master thief Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams), gypsy fortuneteller Sim (Noomi Rapace), and Holmes’ brilliant (but lazy) older brother, Mycroft Holmes (Stephen Fry) – who we get our first official look at, thanks to today’s gallery of official Sherlock Holmes: A Game Shadows images.

Here is the official plot for Game of Shadows thus far: 

Sherlock Holmes has always been the smartest man in the room…until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large—Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris)—and not only is he Holmes’ intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may give him an advantage over the renowned detective.

Around the globe, headlines break the news: a scandal takes down an Indian cotton tycoon; a Chinese opium trader dies of an apparent overdose; bombings in Strasbourg and Vienna; the death of an American steel magnate… No one sees the connective thread between these seemingly random events—no one, that is, except the great Sherlock Holmes, who has discerned a deliberate web of death and destruction. At its center sits a singularly sinister spider: Moriarty.

Holmes’ investigation into Moriarty’s plot becomes more dangerous as it leads him and Watson out of London to France, Germany and finally Switzerland. But the cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead, and moving perilously close to completing his ominous plan. If he succeeds, it will not only bring him immense wealth and power but alter the course of history. 

Now spend some time sifting through nearly 50 images from the film - BUT BE WARNED!!!By the time you’re done looking at them all, you’ll probably feel as though you’ve seen the whole movie. While there aren’t any actual spoilers, it may be a bit too much insight for those hoping to come to Game of Shadows with a clean mental slate.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows will be in theaters on December 16, 2011.