Do you remember the lovely days of the summer of 2019 when there was no life-threatening virus out there killing millions of people? Hollywood sure does. That’s when it was announced that Dexter Fletcher was going to direct “Sherlock Holmes 3” and reunite Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law for another fun romp. But as the filmmaker recently explained, the pandemic really screwed that all up.
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In a recent interview with Collider, Dexter Fletcher updated film fans on the current status of “Sherlock Holmes 3.” That is to say, he crushed the dreams of fans hoping to see RDJ and Law returning in a new film anytime soon.
“The pandemic derailed it,” said Fletcher. “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.”
So, it would appear the third film in the series isn’t really close to going into production. And when it does, it’s unclear if Fletcher is going to be behind the camera. Clearly, the pandemic derailed a ton of projects and ‘Sherlock’ isn’t the only casualty. However, prior to the pandemic, Robert Downey, Jr. teased how the third film in the franchise would lead to a whole cinematic universe. And as recently as April of this year, it was announced that some spinoffs were actually going to be developed for HBO Max. Are they skipping past the third ‘Sherlock’ and going straight to spinoffs? We’ll have to see what happens.
Regardless, “Sherlock Holmes 3” doesn’t seem to be on the horizon anymore. At least not until the stars align yet again.