Sherlock Holmes 3 Is Waiting On Robert Downey Jr

Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie says that the third sequel is waiting on its main star Robert Downey Jr. For the past few years, after the release of Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows, announcements of the sequel have been few and far between. But these are not rumours. It is official and it also comes from Warner Bros. and Robert Downey Jr’s own wife, Susan Downey.

In other words, the husband-and-wife team are deeply involved in making Sherlock Holmes 3. Not only that, but they also even announced that they have plans to make a spin-off series based on the same universe as the films with HBO Max.

Even though Guy Ritchie directed the first two films, he has officially passed on the director’s chair to Dexter Fletcher for the third film. Fletcher is known for making Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman. Ritchie was set to only produce the movie at the time.

Sherlock Holmes Director Says The Third Film Is Waiting On It’s Lead Actor

In a recent interview with Collider, Guy Ritchie was asked if Sherlock Holmes was actually being made, and he responded:

Well, honestly, I left this up to Robert [Downey Jr.]. So Robert wanted to be in charge of this. The ball’s in his court, so he’s in charge of the script, he’s in charge of the whole thing. I’ve moonwalked out of that until there’s a time for me to get involved.

The third film that’s based on Sir Arthur Doyle’s most famous detective, is currently on hiatus. Originally, there were even plans to release Sherlock Holmes 3 back in 2020 and pushed to 2021. But of course, the COVID-19 pandemic happened, which halted the plans for making the film. With that said, Fletcher commented before last year:

It’s one of those cruel twists of fate, where the pandemic hit and that scattered people around the world to the wind. But I know that the appetite is huge for it, and I’m sure there are other people acutely aware of that as well. But I believe it should be [made] because it’s brilliant. I very much hope so.

Basically, we can blame the pandemic for why we haven’t seen the Marvel Avenger return as Holmes.

So, it’s just a matter of time to put everything back into place again. Downey’s own co-star Jude Law who plays John Watson, is also very busy with several projects. He’s in Peter Pan & Wendy, The Marvels, Firebrand and Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. Who knows how many people who were involved with Sherlock Holmes 3 are also tied up in several other projects.

Sherlock Holmes 3 Is Waiting For Robert Downey Jr

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Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures

Robert Downey Jr is a busy man. Even after he retired from being Iron Man, he still keeps going. Just last year, he released Sr on Netflix, which is a documentary about his own father. In 2021 he also released a TV series for the same streaming network called Sweet Tooth, based on the DC/Vertigo comic book of the same name.

Currently, he has just finished Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. And he’s an executive producer of a TV adaptation of The Sympathizer for A24, which is set to be released for HBO. He is also expected to play a part in the series.

Many of the projects that Robert Downey Jr has been involved in also had other parties involved, and possibly expected release dates were attached to those projects. While Sherlock Holmes 3 is completely under Team Downey. Because of this, Holmes has been put on the backburner. With so many projects under Downey’s plate, it is understandable.

Since Robert Downey Jr became a superstar as Marvel’s Iron Man, he has been busy nonstop and did Sherlock Holmes in between films. At the moment, all we can do is wait for everything to line up again and see if Robert Downey Jr would be interested in coming back to the franchise. The ball is in Team Downey’s court.

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