Guy Ritchie has shared his opinions on Sherlock Holmes 3’s delayed development after a decade of work. Ritchie helped establish the series based on the renowned Sir Arthur Conan Doyle detective in 2009 with the Robert Downey Jr.-led picture, which mainly received excellent reviews and earned Downey Jr. a Golden Globe award and two Oscar nominations. The film produced the 2011 sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, which grossed $543 million and led to the order of a third picture, which has since languished in development purgatory.
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Guy Ritchie was questioned about Sherlock Holmes 3’s long-delayed production while chatting with Collider about his latest picture, Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. Although not participate in the threequel, the original series director cited Downey Jr.’s involvement with the movie as the most significant delay, notably his control of every element of production. Check out what Ritchie said below:
I honestly left this to Robert [Downey Jr.]. So Robert wants to be in control of this. Since the ball is in his court, he commands the screenplay and the whole production. I’ve moved away from it until the moment comes for me to become involved.
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Would a third Sherlock Holmes film ever be made?
Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, was released in 2009.
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Despite a good start with a quick turnaround between the previous two films, Sherlock Holmes 3 has taken its time in production. Several of the updates released by Downey Jr., co-star Jude Law, and producers Joel Silver and Lionel Wigram have stated that the major reason for the delay has been the threequel producers’ desire for the greatest screenplay possible. Given that Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows barely missed out on a “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s understandable that they’d want to make amends with a stronger sequel.
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Despite never expressly acknowledged as a cause for the delay, Downey Jr.’s stint as Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe had many wondering whether Sherlock Holmes 3 would ever be made. But, there have been a few changes in recent years that suggest some hope for the project, including Paramount signing Rocketman’s Dexter Fletcher to helm the picture. Moreover, Downey Jr. and his wife, Susan, stated in late 2020 that they would be collaborating with Warner Bros. to extend the Sherlock Holmes brand to include spinoff TV projects at HBO Max, proving the actor’s continuous interest in the IP.
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While Ritchie is no longer engaged in the series, his guarantee that Downey Jr. is committed to making Sherlock Holmes 3 the best it can be will be comforting to fans of the previous two films. With the actor’s time in the MCU coming to an end, his calendar for a blockbuster production on the scale of a new Sherlock Holmes seems to be significantly more open than it was before. With his work on Shane Black’s Play Dirty and an adaptation of The Sympathizer, he may still have a long way to go before Sherlock Holmes 3 becomes a reality.
