Much was made about Guy Ritchie’s coy demeanor when he was asked whether or not his Sherlock Holmes movie, the one where Robert Downey Jr. will play a swashbuckling Holmes, will include Sherlock’s most famous nemesis Professor James Moriarty. And up until now, his potential appearance in the film has been unknown, at least until the film’s known bad guy started talking to the press.

IGN UK caught up with Mark Strong, who plays Holmes’ adversary Lord Blackwood in the film, to chat about his role, a chat which inevitably led to some talk about Moriarty. And in potentially spoilerish fashion, Strong admitted that Moriarty is in the film, “but you don’t really see him. I think he’s there because if the franchise carries on, there’s a possibility that he will appear in a larger guise.

“But for the purposes of this one and the detective narrative, I’m the guy that Sherlock’s after, Lord Blackwood. And he’s a cultist/Satanist lord who is the ultimate cad.”

So if you are okay holding Moriarty off for another film, then you’ll probably be in tune with Ritchie’s flick. If not, then I suppose you are just going to have to deal with it. It is of no consequence to me, because if the movie is solid I don’t care who the villain is. Then again, I’m no purist. That, and Mark Strong is a damn fine actor. He should do well carrying the villainous weight of the film.

Do you require a Moriarty appearance in order to be satisfied with Sherlock Holmes?