Warner Bros are still looking to make a third Sherlock Holmes film.
After appearing opposite the alternative television version of the character (Benedict Cumberbatch) recently in Avengers: Infinity War, it appears that there’s a good choice that Robert Downey Jr. will once again be taking on the mantle of the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes, in a third big screen outing.
Warner Bros have announced their intent to release a third film in their Sherlock Holmes franchise on Christmas Day 2020. Whilst Downey Jr. has yet to formally sign on to the project, he has made no secret of his desire to return to the role, previously telling Entertainment Weekly that he and his wife/producing partner Susan Downey were “looking at another Sherlock Holmes”.
Jude Law, who has appeared alongside Downey Jr. as Doctor Watson in the two previous outings is also expected to return, but there is no confirmation if Guy Ritchie would take up directorial duties for a third time with the director currently now in post-production on Disney’s live-action Aladdin.
Law will be also riding aboard the Marvel Studios success train next year in the upcoming Captain Marvel, but there is no indication that he will be tied into any multi-film deal with his character Mar-Vell expected to hand over the reigns to the titular character in the origin movie set in the 1990s.
Warner Bros have described the return of the iconic sleuth inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famed detective mysteries, as a “priority” and the third film has been in the planning stages for some time now with series producer Lionel Wigram remarking in 2015 that the stars were both very interested in reprising their roles, saying, “we would all love to do one if we could come up with something that really was going to knock it out of the park and was going to be the best of the three.”
The previous two Sherlock Holmes films have netted a healthy investment for Warner Bros with the first film scooping $524 million worldwide, only to then be outdone by its sequel with a $545 million haul, for a combined $1.069 billion.
Downey Jr. is also scheduled to appear in The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle, where he’ll play the titular role of the physician with the ability to talk to animals. His Spider-Man: Homecoming co-star Tom Holland will also be joining him to lend his voice to ‘Jip,’ a dog in a cast that also includes Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, John Cena, Rami Malek and Emma Thompson.
There is also of course the small matter of the fourth and as-of-yet untitled Avengers movie due in April 2019. Whether that will see the final appearance of Downey Jr. as Tony Stark remains to be seen.