Movies - TV
What’s Happening With Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes 3?
By JOE ROBERTS
Ever since 2011's "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," fans have been expecting Robert Downey Jr. to return for another round of sleuthing — a follow-up was promised for years.
In 2018, Jude Law (Watson) said the "Sherlock Holmes 3" plot would "propel the story forward," and "play up [...] that [Holmes and Watson] haven't seen each other for a long time."
Guy Ritchie, director of the first two movies, won’t return, but "Rocketman" filmmaker Dexter Fletcher was set to helm the project in July 2019 for a December 2021 release.
Then, the pandemic hit and "Sherlock Holmes 3" went on the back burner, but on a podcast in April 2023, producer and Robert Downey Jr.'s wife, Susan Downey, provided an update.
"So, yes. ['Sherlock Holmes 3'] is in the hopper," she said. "We're going to do it when it's right with the right people. But it is a priority for the company and […] for Robert."
Also in April 2023, Fletcher stressed that the project was "not currently" in development, but confirmed that he would still "love to do it," and that "the script was brilliant."
Prior to the pandemic, Downey Jr. and Fletcher significantly developed the project, working with writer Joe Penhall and even spending 10 days at the actor’s place in the Hamptons.
With Susan Downey confirming it is still a "priority," the real question with "Sherlock Holmes 3" may not be "if" but "when," especially since it’s a reliably successful franchise.