Sherlock Holmes 3 has found its director in Rocketman’s Dexter Fletcher. After two successful films directed by Guy Ritchie, rumors of a third Sherlock Holmes film have been floating around for years, but it wasn’t until May of last year that Warner Bros finally confirmed that a third film is in the works.
Sherlock Holmes introduced us to Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective (played by Robert Downey Jr) and his faithful assistant, John Watson (Jude Law), as well as other characters from Doyle’s world, such as Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) and Mrs. Hudson (Geraldine James). The sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, introduced Holmes’ biggest enemy, Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris), and ended in a sort of cliffhanger, leaving the door open for a third film. Luckily, it all points at Sherlock Holmes 3 finally getting out of pre-production limbo, and it has found a new director for this new adventure.
According to Variety, Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher is taking over Ritchie’s directing duties in Sherlock Holmes 3. The film will be penned by Chris Brancato (Narcos) and both Downey Jr. and Law are expected to reprise their roles as the crime-solving duo. There are no plot details yet, but the story is said to be set in Old West-era San Francisco.
Variety adds that the studio has had a third Sherlock Holmes film planned for years, but Downey’s schedule as Iron Man left the project on hold for a while. Now that Downey’s role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is over, this shouldn’t be an obstacle anymore. As for Ritchie, he has worked on different films such as The Man from U.N.C.L.E and the live-action version of Disney’s Aladdin. He is currently working on the crime film The Gentlemen, starring Matthew McConaughey and Colin Farrell.
Fletcher has gained a lot of attention thanks to his work in Bohemian Rhapsody, where he stepped up as director after Bryan Singer’s firing during the last weeks of production, and for directing the Elton John biopic Rocketman. Among his previous directing credits are the musical Sunshine on Leith and the crime comedy Wild Bill. The previous Sherlock Holmes films had a generous dose of humor without overusing it, and with Fletcher’s experience in different genres - both as director and actor – we can be sure he will keep that tone that made the films especially entertaining.
As mentioned above, the ending of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows prepared the grounds for a third film - but eight years have passed since, so it’s going to be interesting to see how the creative team behind Sherlock Holmes 3 addresses what happened at the ending of the second film and the time jump between these two, as the characters will not look the same.
Source: Variety
