Guy Ritchie reportedly pursuing Daniel Day-Lewis to play Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes sequel

At this point it’s just an unconfirmed rumor, but SuperHeroHype is reporting that Guy Ritchie is hoping to convince Daniel Day-Lewis to take on the role of arch-villain Moriarty in his forthcoming Sherlock Holmes sequel, due December 2011. Those who saw last December’s Sherlock Holmes may recall that Moriarty was only briefly glimpsed as a shadowy figure in a carriage, during one of the film’s rare moments of quiet. Since then, many have speculated that Brad Pitt had provided Moriarty’s voice—something Ritchie has denied—and would later assume the role, but Pitt’s name doesn’t even appear on the list of potential Plan Bs bandied about by SuperHeroHype, who claims that Ritchie’s alternatives should Day-Lewis decline could be Sean Penn, Javier Bardem, or Gary Oldman. All this is speculation from “unconfirmed sources” of course, as Ritchie is only now finishing up rewrites on the script. Take it with a grain of blog-salt, etc.