Sherlock Holmes is Robert Downey Jr.’s second most successful franchise, and it has seen two major movies released over ten years ago. After the second installment, A Game of Shadows, there was talk of a third movie, which ultimately never happened and left fans wondering about the future of the character portrayed by Downey. With the actor ending his run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and recently announcing his involvement with a TV series based on the universe of the famous detective, now would be a good time to finally bring that third chapter to light.
It’s been 11 years since the release of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The film is the sequel to 2009’s Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the brilliant detective and Jude Law as his sidekick Dr. John Watson. Both films were directed by Guy Ritchie, with a contemporary vision that resembles most of the director’s other work, namely the use of detailed and extreme slow-mo fighting scenes. Downey and Law delivered a fine chemistry between them, which carried most of the scenes in the movies. Furthermore, it proved both films could develop into a franchise, especially after the first Sherlock Holmes grossed $524M worldwide, a number then surpassed by the sequel’s $543M.
It also solidified Downey as a bankable star in a role that was not tony Stark/Iron Man, proving that he could easily hold a Sherlock Holmes film franchise on his shoulders. Iron Man has undoubtedly been his signature role, but it has also consumed most of his career since 2008. He was the pillar that held most of the MCU through its first three phases, leaving little time for the actor to make appearances in other major movies despite great performances in films like Tropic Thunder and The Soloist. With Tony Stark out of the way, he can now focus on other projects and franchises.
After A Game of Shadows, there was talk about a third movie but without Ritchie at the helm. This wouldn’t be the first time a trilogy was not finished by the same director, though Ritchie’s style is quite unique. However, director Dexter Fletcher came on board, and the project was set to begin shooting until it stumbled upon a major delay in 2019 and remained numb until now. It was recently announced that HBO Max is developing a couple of series based on the famous detective produced by Downey and his wife Susan Downey under the couple’s production company, Team Downey.
The actor has expressed a desire to create a Sherlock Holmes cinematic universe, similar to that of the MCU, stating that the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are excellent for a mystery-verse, the likes of which do not yet exist. He bluntly said, “why do a third movie if you’re not going to be able to spin off into some real gems of diversity and other times and elements?” This could mean that both Warner Brothers and HBO Max, the studio’s TV-backed partner, could be teaming up to create something completely new and innovative. Not only could audiences finally expect the third installment, but it would come accompanied by two series.
Given the success of the cinematic version of Sherlock Holmes, standing on Downey’s shoulders, the third movie along with the series could easily be his next big role to parallel that of Tony Stark/Iron Man. The actor is scheduled to appear next in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which is currently in production.
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