Draft:Sherlock Holmes 3

Sherlock Holmes 3 is an upcoming mystery film featuring the character Sherlock Holmes. It would be the sequel to the 2011 film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and the third installment in the Sherlock Holmes series. It will be directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Chris Brancato with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law reprising their roles.

Cast

 * Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes: A London detective
 * Jude Law as Dr. John Watson: Sherlock's assistant.
 * Jared Harris as Professor James Moriarty

Production
In January 2012, Guy Ritchie confirmed he was returning to direct a third instalment of the series, and hoped to base the film's production in Los Angeles. By December, a year after the previous film, producer Dan Lin referred to a third film as a "high priority", with Drew Pearce set to write the screenplay. Lin also stated that production had to wait for star Robert Downey Jr. to finish Iron Man 3 before production could commence. Jude Law stated in November 2013 that despite meeting to discuss the film with Ritchie and Downey earlier in the year, it had yet to receive a greenlight from Warner Bros.

In April 2016, Downey announced he was hoping to film the sequel later in the year, with James Coyne announced to be rewriting the screenplay. Filming was eyed to begin that autumn, with producer Joel Silver claiming this could be one of several new sequels. In October, a writer's room consisting of Kieran Fitzgerald, Justin Malen, Nicole Perlman and Gary Whitta was assembled to write the film's screenplay. The film missed it's autumn 2016 filming start, and by August 2017, Geneva Robertson-Dworet was working on the script.

In May 2018, Narcos creator Chris Brancato was hired as the new screenwriter for the film, with Ritchie's involvement uncertain as no director was set to direct. Law described a theme of the film as being how Holmes and Watson having not seen one another in some time.

In March 2019, the film was reported to be set for a January 2020 filming start, and would be set in turn of the century San Francisco. In July, Dexter Fletcher was announced as in negotiations to serve as director, with Ritchie officially not returning in that capacity.

During an October 2020 panel at Fast Company’s Innovation Festival, Susan Downey explained they were looking to expand the third film in order to begin a cinematic universe, similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that Downey Jr. had participated in. That same month, Fletcher considered the project as being "on the back-burner", due to complications stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June 2021, Fletcher stated the film was delayed indefinitely due to the ongoing pandemic, saying, "We started going and then Covid hit, and they were like, 'Look we're going to stand it down and Robert has got something else he wants to do'...These things are so big that you don't wanna just chisel them into something... I know that Robert will not let that fish off the hook." In April 2023, Fletcher said that he, Downey, and writer Joe Penhall were working on the script in Downey's home, reiterating that the pandemic affected development and their personal plans, schedules, and priorities in terms of projects. Susan Downey and Team Downey collaborator Amanda Burrell confirmed the same month that the project was still a priority for the company and for Downey.

Filming
The film was issued a $20 million tax credit to film in California in 2019.

Release
Sherlock Holmes 3 was originally scheduled to be released on 25 December 2020 by Warner Bros. Pictures and later delayed to 21 December 2021; however, after further delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the film has not been given a new release date.