This could prove to be one of the all-time greatest comedic masterpieces…or a painfully high-concept comedic flop.

It’s really very simple: Take one Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Ali-G/Borat/Bruno), add one Will Ferrell, apply both to Sherlock Holmes, toss in Superbad’s Judd Apatow behind the camera, and you’ve got yourself a very volatile mix.

You read that right: Judd Apatow will be directing an adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s seminal detective Sherlock Holmes, who will be played by Cohen, while his faithful sidekick Watson will be portrayed by Will Ferrell.

But let’s face it–these three are perhaps the biggest comedic draws in recent memory, so the star power alone will probably make for a boffo opening. Quote studio copresident Matt Tolmach to Variety:

“Just the idea of Sacha and Will as Sherlock Holmes and Watson makes us laugh. [...] Sacha and Will are two of the funniest and most talented guys on the planet, and having them take on these two iconic characters is frankly hilarious.”

The trio are far from strangers: Apatow and Ferrell have most recently collaborated on the upcoming Step-Brothers, Cohen and Ferrell co-starred in Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby, and just on top of it all, Tropic Thunder writer Etan Cohen will be penning this opus. Meanwhile, Sacha Baron Cohen is hard at work Bruno-ing it up with his latest, slated for a May 2009 release (barring an upcoming actor’s strike).