Sherlock Holmes 3 Is Going Ahead With A New Director

It's hard to get a film in production when your main man is as busy as Robert Downey Jr.

The third instalment of Sherlock Holmes was originally due to be released this year, 10 years on from the first simply-named film, Sherlock Holmes. But this release date was subsequently pushed back to 2020 and then it was pushed back again to 2021... December 2021.

But now at least it seems the film is gathering some momentum, with Rocketman director Dexter Fletcher taking the director's chair for the third movie.

PA

Guy Ritchie directed the first two films, but Fletcher - who starred in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels - will take the helm for the third, according to Variety.

Jude Law is expected to return in his role as Professor Watson, while Narcos co-creator, Chris Brancato, is writing the script.

The first two films collectively pulled in more than a $1 billion at the box office, so while the continuous push backs may have disconcerted fans, it always seemed likely the third film would come along eventually.

In the sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, fans were left to believe (if they were naive) that Holmes had plunged to his death after hurling himself at Professor James Moriarty to protect his sidekick. However, in a cheeky twist at the end, Watson received a package containing a breathing device that revealed Holmes survived the fall into the Reichenbach Falls... Like Holmes can be defeated.

Downey Jr's character then hopped on Watson's typewriter and added a question mark after the words 'The End'... A question mark that has still been looming quite large in truth, eight years on.

Warner Bros.

Fans will hope Fletcher can do as good a job with Sherlock Holmes as he did with Rocketman, with the film receiving positive reviews from punters and critics alike.

Indeed, The Guardian gave the film five stars, with reviewer Mark Kermode singling out Fletcher for praise.

He wrote: "Fletcher is the real star of this show, a director whose enthusiasm for musical storytelling shines through every frame, hitting all the emotional high notes."

Here's hoping the third Sherlock Holmes film will be just as good, if less musical, and will make the long old wait worth our while.

Topics: TV and Film, US Entertainment

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey