The film was directed by Guy Ritchie and produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey, and Dan Lin. Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes as Holmes, Jude Law as Dr. John Watson. Rachel McAdams stars as Holmes' former adversary Irene Adler and Mark Strong portrays villain Lord Henry Blackwood. A sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, was released in 2011.