There have been many Sherlock Holmes movies and shows over the years, which showcase various takes on the infamous brainy British detective and his tuned-in associate, John Watson. In short, the sleuths represent a cultural touchstone, and when Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law’s Holmes franchise began in 2009, it primed a whole new generation to enjoy the classic literary duo. Unfortunately, fans have been waiting for the third installment for over a decade. Now, Law is sharing an honest, yet promising, update.
The Grand Budapest Hotel alum recently sat down with The Playlist to talk about his upcoming white supremacy drama (which is based on real events), The Order. While in conversation, he also shared a frank update about the next installment of Sherlock Holmes. He had this to say about the current logistics of the project:
I think there’s a new iteration of the script I haven’t yet read. And then there’s a case of ‘How expensive is it? And can we get it made?’
From the sounds of it, on the surface, movement on the third movie still seems at a standstill, which is a bummer. The silver lining, though, is that there’s apparently a new script on deck and still no sign of that bizzare time-traveling storyline. I’m personally glad that was officially scrapped, but time keeps on ticking for this film to happen. Nevertheless, Law shared that one of the reasons for the delay has to do with the cast and crew’s dedication to delivering the best story, which is good to hear.
Scheduling is an apparent issue as well, as franchise OG Guy Ritchie is no longer billed as the director. (I'm curious as to whether or not the most recent script Jude Law mentioned is the "brilliant one" mentioned by Ritchie in 2023.) The Snatch moviemaker was replaced by Dexter Fletcher as director in 2019 and, as far as we know, Fletcher is still at the helm of this franchise’s threequel.
As the film sits in limbo, though, Guy Ritchie is revisiting Sherlock in a whole new youthful way. The new series, which is heading to Amazon Prime Video, revolves around a young Holmes before he becomes the ace detective he's widely known as. Hopefully, it’ll have all of the same magic as the movie franchise.
That aside, fans should remember that Downey and Law have been and continue to be busy with their own projects. After all, the two showed up in entries on either one or both the 2024 TV schedule and 2024 movie schedule. So that knowledge paired with Law's recent sentiments have me thinking it's going to be a while before this flick gets off the ground.
It's still good to known that the dedication from the creative team remains intact and that a new script has surfaced. Hopefully, there will come a day when fans will be able to sit in a theater and check out the continuing adventures of Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes and Jude Law's John Watson.
If you’d like to watch the original Sherlock Homes, you can do so with a Max subscription.
