After playing two beloved fantastical characters of legend with Magneto and Gandalf, Ian McKellan is going for the hat trick in Mr. Holmes, in which he plays the real-life Sherlock Holmes looking back on a life of sleuthing and how he was adapted as a character in popular culture. The film is directed by Oscar favorite Bill Condon, and distributor Roadside Attractions has just released a new trailer for Mr. Holmes that gives a greater sense of what we can expect from this latest twist on the Holmes lore. This trailer makes it very clear that the film will be as much about legacy and perception as it will be about the peculiarities of the titular character and his bevy of famed cases and detecting techniques. McKellan looks to be in fine, witty form as Holmes, and there's already been some awards buzz surrounding his performance, which is understandable considering that Condon's Gods and Monsters garnered McKellan an Oscar nomination for lead actor back in 1998.

Mr. Holmes will be released in theaters on July 17th. Check out the new trailer below:

Here's the official synopsis:

1947, an aging Sherlock Holmes returns from a journey to Japan, where, in search of a rare plant with powerful restorative qualities, he has witnessed the devastation of nuclear warfare.  Now, in his remote seaside farmhouse, Holmes faces the end of his days tending to his bees, with only the company of his housekeeper and her young son, Roger.  Grappling with the diminishing powers of his mind, Holmes comes to rely upon the boy as he revisits the circumstances of the unsolved case that forced him into retirement, and searches for answers to the mysteries of life and love – before it's too late.

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