Images have been released from the second instalment of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes franchise, ambiguously titled A Game Of Shadows. Although sadly, Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes, frankly the only reason we are excited about seeing it, appears in none of them.

The posters themselves appear very similar to those from Ritchie’s first effort, sticking with the same light blue tinge and using enough airbrush effects to make Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. look like they’re in the new Tintin film. Although if you squint your eyes really closely you can see Noomi Rapace as the French gypsy Sim, and Jared Harris as the fiendish Moriarty.

2009’s Sherlock Holmes, famous for being not quite as rubbish as everyone thought it would be, ended on a veritable cliffhanger with Holmes being warned about a new case involving arch enemy Professor Moriarty. Game Of Shadows is set to be another smash ‘n’ grab, no-nonsense, all-action affair in which Holmes and Watson attempt to outwit their rival, although if Warner Brothers get another big box office return, probably not for the last time. This one’s slated for release in December.