Jude Law confirmed in a new interview with the Playlist that the long-awaited third ‘Sherlock Holmes’ film with Robert Downey Jr. is still moving forward.
“The plan has been evolving over how many years it’s been now, probably nearly ten years,” the actor said. “There’s a great will to make it. And a great will amongst us all to get it right to do it, to find the time, to find the right team.”
“The one great thing I took from both of those films is my friendship with Robert and his wife Susan, they mean an awful lot to me,” Law also mentioned his close friendship with Downey Jr. and producer Susan Downey.
The billion-dollar franchise started in 2009, with the last movie, ‘A Game of Shadows,’ in 2011. Despite making $1 billion worldwide from a $215 million budget, the third film has faced many delays.
Susan Downey shared more hope for the third film, saying it’s ‘still very much alive in our hearts.’ She told Screenrant in June that they are still looking for the right story.
She explained, “Every day we talk about, ‘What is the best next version of that?’ Because anytime I see Robert and Jude together, which fortunately, I do get to see a few times a year, we hang out, and I’m just like, ‘Can I get these guys back on screen together?’ It’s magic.”
The project has gone through many changes since it was first confirmed in 2011. Dexter Fletcher replaced Guy Ritchie as director in 2019, and Chris Brancato was hired to write the script. A planned 2021 release didn’t happen, probably because of COVID-19.
The timing is tricky since Downey Jr. will play Doctor Doom in Marvel’s upcoming ‘Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars,’ with filming starting in early 2025. This means ‘Sherlock Holmes 3’ could start production in late 2025 or early 2026.
The last film ended with Holmes seemingly sacrificing himself to stop Moriarty, but he was shown alive at the end. This opens up many possibilities for the third film, either from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories or a new mystery.
