One of the stars of the iteration of Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr. gives a doubtful update on the status of Sherlock Holmes 3. In contrast to the biggest Sherlock Holmes properties of the 2010s having the story play out in a modern setting, 2009’s Sherlock Holmes and 2011’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows retain the classic Victoria era backdrop.
Starring Downey, Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Jared Harris, Stephen Fry, Eddie Marsan, and more, these two movies were box office hits and maintained a loyal fan base. Sherlock Holmes 3 entered development following A Game of Shadows, but the project has famously been stalled for over a decade, while Downey’s schedule was dominated by the MCU.
Producer Susan Downey just provided a massive update on Sherlock Holmes 3, suggesting the cast and crew are still set on making this movie someday, but they are ironing out the story. However, for his new feature All the Devils Are Here, ScreenRant‘s Grant Hermanns recently interviewed Eddie Marsan, who plays Inspector Lestrade in the two movies, and he is less sure.
Prior to news about Downey’s update breaking, Marsan expressed his doubts because the team is always saying that they are going to make Sherlock Holmes 3, but it never happens. Check out his quote below:
ScreenRant: I also loved your Inspector Lestrade. I’m still holding out hope for you guys to come back. Have you heard any rumblings on what might be happening there?
Eddie Marsan: Every year I hear that they’re going to do it, they’re going to do it, they’re going to do it, and it never happens. I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s ever going to happen.
What This Means For Sherlock Holmes 3
The fan base of RDJ’s Sherlock Holmes movies does have reason to be skeptical when it has been so long since the last installment, and as soon as Downey was apparently done with the MCU, he agreed to take on the new role of Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday. Simply put, direct sequels that are not legacies or soft reboots rarely have this long a hiatus.
This also means that the cast may have long moved on from the project and are no longer interested in returning, though Downey and Law seem to still be attached to it. Former collaborators aren’t necessarily communicating every day about a long-dormant franchise, so it is possible that Sherlock Holmes 3 is about to break ground, and Marsan hasn’t been made aware yet.
Our Take On Conflicting Updates For Sherlock Holmes 3
Marsan points out what we already know: that updates have occasionally cropped up over the years, but there is still no movie. There is an overall feeling about this project that we will believe it when we see it. Yet the fact that the possibility of it has remained a topic of conversation is a testament to the lead creatives’ desire to make it happen eventually.
It would be a huge event for the franchise to come back after all this time, especially after the other Sherlock Holmes adaptations have wrapped up. The likelihood of the movie coming to fruition may be shaky at best; at some point, they do have to say the script is good enough and forge ahead. Yet it would be amazing to see Sherlock Holmes 3 defy the odds.
- Director
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Dexter Fletcher
- Writers
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Chris Brancato, Arthur Conan Doyle