Director Dexter Fletcher has given an optimistic update on the planned Sherlock Holmes 3. The first Sherlock Holmes film debuted in 2009, starring Robert Downey Jr. in the title role and Jude Law as John Watson. The sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, premiered in 2011. Despite mixed reviews to both films, the Sherlock projects were both box office successes, and a third installation in the franchise was ordered in late 2011.
Warner Bros. first announced that the initial draft for Sherlock Holmes 3 had been completed in October of 2011. It wasn't until 2014 that another update was given, with Susan Downey (Sherlock Holmes producer and wife of Downey Jr.) announcing that the film was in development. Over the following years, vague updates on the status of the project were released, and in May 2018, Warner Bros. announced that Sherlock Holmes 3 was scheduled for a 2020 release date. Fletcher was confirmed as the film's director in 2019, with the two previous Sherlock Holmes films having been directed by Guy Ritchie. However, the project was unfortunately de-railed by the COVID-19 pandemic and has been in production limbo ever since.
In an interview with Collider, Fletcher said that he was hopeful Sherlock Holmes 3 would still be made. The director admitted that while he has no firm timelines or updates on the film's status, he is aware that audiences are eager for it. Fletcher chalks the production up to a matter of "all the right people being at the right place, at the right time," and hopes that time is still to come. See Fletcher's full comment below:
"The pandemic derailed it. I do think it will get made. I think it has to be made. I don’t know what the timeline of that is, unfortunately, but I believe it should be. It’s fantastic. I think it’s about all the right people being at the right place, at the right time. I think it’s that. 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 because it’s brilliant. I very much hope so."
Though the production Sherlock Holmes 3 was first announced 11 years ago, Fletcher is clearly confident that the film will come to fruition, which is encouraging news amid extreme delays. In 2014, Susan Downey commented that "at a certain point, it's going to be too long," seemingly dashing hope for a revival of Downey Jr. and Law's team-up so far down the line. However, now there still seems to be whispers of Sherlock Holmes 3 finally going through the production process. Of course, the threequel will have its stars' busy schedules to deal with in order to bring it to life, with both Downey Jr. and Law serving as two of Hollywood's biggest stars with major franchise roles in the works. As such, getting "all the right people [in] the right place" may be difficult.
With the release date of Sherlock Holmes 3 still listed as December 22, 2021, and no new information on its status, it's impossible to tell when (or if) the film will ever hit screens. With Arthur Conan Doyle's vast original works still left to explore, a third film has countless options for a possible story, and will no doubt be an exciting installment. However, the success of the first two Sherlock Holmes films was largely dependant on Downey Jr. and Law's chemistry and performances, and moving forward without the stars would make Sherlock Holmes 3 a very different project. However, Fletcher's update seems to suggest that plans to reunite Sherlock and Watson again are still in motion.
Source: Collider