Will Ferrell and John C Reilly reunite for new Sherlock Holmes film

John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell, who starred in the film Step Brothers (pictured), will now be taking on Holmes and Watson.

Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous creation has had dozens of re-inventions over the years, including a recent resurgence that has seen Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr and Johnny Lee Miller step into Sherlock Holmes' mystery-solving shoes.

Now Anchorman and Elf star Will Ferrell will join the likes of Rupert Everett and Christopher Lee in taking on the great detective - and he'll be joined by John C Reilly as trusty sidekick Watson.

Deadline reports that the pair will be starring in Holmes & Watson, a film from Sony directed by Etan Cohen, the writer-director behind 2015 Ferrell film Get Hard.

A scene from the film Talladega Nights starring Will Ferrell, John C Reilly and Sacha Baron Cohen.

It marks a reunion for Ferrell and Reilly, who made a double-act in goofball racing film Talladega Nights and 2008's Step Brothers. Holmes & Watson will be a PG-13 comedy, riffing off Conan Doyle's well-established characters.

Curiously, Sacha Baron Cohen was initially pegged to play Watson alongside Ferrell, who appeared with him and Reilly in Talladega Nights. However, it didn't work out. Presumably, the studio is hoping that their choice of reuniting the pair will be elementary.