Robert Downey Jr. hasn’t played Sherlock Holmes since 2011, but he’s finally about to portray the Great Detective again in Sherlock Holmes 3. Now that he’s left the role of Iron Man behind, the actor is free to return to the franchise, with the third film due to shoot next year ahead of its release in December 2021. This might not just be a one-off reprisal of the character though, as a fourth movie could be on the cards, too.
Sources close to WGTC – the same ones who told us Ace Ventura 3 is in development, which has been confirmed, and that Disney’s developing a new Dragon Ball movie, which trusted insider Daniel RPK has corroborated – are saying that Warner Bros. is hoping to get Downey Jr. back for Sherlock Holmes 4. What’s more, this isn’t just something vaguely intended to happen later down the line but would directly follow on from SH3. And if the Avengers: Endgame star agrees to do more, the studio apparently has plans to film both movies back-to-back, with the story of the third one feeding into the fourth. However, this is a big if due to RDJ’s busy schedule and it’s possible that, even if he does sign up for it, there’d be a gap in between shooting.
In any case, we also have some plot details on the planned fourth movie, with Sherlock Holmes 4 said to be returning the action to Europe, after 3 sees Holmes and Watson in the United States. Jared Harris’ Moriarty would be the main antagonist, too, with the evil professor trying to start a war. Of course, he did much the same in the last film, A Game of Shadows, so presumably there’d be a new element to the plot that we don’t know about yet/has yet to be devised.
Regardless, we’ve previously reported that Moriarty will return in SH3, with it revealed that he survived his dip in the Reichenbach Falls, just like his nemesis. This would likely be a cameo to set up his greater role in the fourth flick, but the extent of his involvement in the threequel remains to be seen.
Still, it seems Warner Bros. is definitely keen to do more Sherlock Holmes movies after this one and we’re hopeful that Robert Downey Jr. can find some time in his schedule to reprise the role at least a few more times.
