Sherlock Holmes 3 received a promising update from one of its screenwriters, but a significant hurdle continues to stand in the way of the long-awaited sequel. Sherlock Holmes 3 was officially announced by Warner Bros. in May 2018 with a planned Christmas 2020 release. In March 2019, the studio confirmed that the sequel starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law was pushed to December 22, 2021, which would have marked a full decade since the release of its predecessor, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. However, the plan didn't push through, and Sherlock Holmes 3 has remained stuck in development limbo since.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Direct while promoting the MGM+ series Westies, co-creator and showrunner Chris Brancato, who is listed as the screenwriter for Sherlock Holmes 3, and co-creator Michael Panes, gave a candid but cautious update about the long-delayed sequel.
Brancato confirmed that he has already written a full draft of the script, but he is unsure whether the movie will happen, noting that Robert Downey Jr.'s "very busy schedule" remains a major hurdle. Panes added that the draft Brancato wrote was "very good:"
The Direct: "You're working on the screenplay of Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes 3, a movie fans have been dying to see for 15 years. And so I just wanted to ask you, is this movie going to happen?"
Chris Brancato: "Well, I don't know, that's up to the movie gods. Also, Robert's schedule. Robert has a very, very busy schedule, so I'm hopeful that it will get made. But you know, we have to wait and see how things shake out. You just never know with movies."
The Direct: "Have you written a draft for it? Does it have a completed script?"
Brancato: "Oh, yes, yes. I wrote a draft."
Michael Panes: "And it's very good."
Downey Jr. has been a busy man over the years. Following his MCU stint as Iron Man, he starred in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer, won his first-ever Oscar for his role in that film, and dove headfirst into The Symphatizer. Downey then cleared his schedule to return to the Marvel world as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Sherlock Holmes 3 has had a long development history. The sequel has been in the works since shortly after Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows in 2011, with multiple writers attached over the years before Brancato took the reins. In 2019, Variety reported that Rocketman's Dexter Fletcher was attached to direct following Guy Ritchie's exit from the film. In August 2022, One Take News reported that Sherlock Holmes 3 was set to begin filming at the end of the year, but it never came to fruition.
Then, in June 2024, Fletcher told CinemaBlend that he had worked with Downey on the project for some time before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everything.
Fast forward to November 2024, Jude Law, who co-starred with Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock as Dr. John Watson in the film, gave an official update about Sherlock Holmes 3, admitting that the "plan has been evolving" for quite some time and "there's a great will to make it:"
"Gosh, yeah, that’s interesting. The plan has been evolving over how many years it’s been now, probably nearly ten years. There’s a great will to make it."
Another former cast member of Sherlock Holmes also joined the conversation in July 2025. In an exclusive interview with The Direct, Jared Harris, who played Sherlock's rival Professor Moriarty, admitted that he has "no idea" if a sequel will be made because "no one's talking to [him] about it:"
The Direct: What is the latest update on 'Sherlock Holmes 3?' Because everyone is dying for it, and we're still waiting.
Jared Harris: "Yeah. I mean, I keep taking that down [on IMDb] and someone keeps putting it back up. I have no idea. No one's talking to me about it. And I really wish people would stop asking me... It should be on there. I mean, no one's talking to me about it. I have no clue."
In May 2026, Robert Downey Jr. (via the Associated Press) finally gave a concrete response to Sherlock Holmes 3's development, admitting that the power is not in his hands and instead lies in his wife and producer, Susan Downey:
"I don’t know. People are talking about it. She’s the producer and will have the last word. It’s the greatest mystery."
Why Sherlock Holmes 3 Still Needs To Happen Despite the Long Wait
It has been 15 years since the release of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, and the prospect of a third Robert Downey Jr.-led sequel has been dwindling amid confusing updates from its stars and creatives. Despite that, the long wait hasn't diminished demand; instead, it has only sharpened the sense of why this sequel still matters.
The first two films under the Sherlock Holmes banner worked because of the incredible dynamic between Downey's titular detective and Law's loyal Dr. Watson. The pair's on-screen chemistry was fresh, surprisingly heartfelt, and one of the reasons these movies succeeded in the first place. Sherlock Holmes 3 would give them one last chance to finish the story on their own terms before both actors turn to other projects.
Downey's Sherlock Holmes films are quite beloved because the franchise carved out its own version of the character, creating a modern blockbuster that still pays respect to the source material. With a completed script from Chris Brancato, there is an opportunity to deliver a satisfying conclusion, and it all boils down to Downey's willingness to return to this gritty detective world.
While the wait has been frustrating, Sherlock Holmes 3 represents the kind of unfinished business that truly deserves a proper ending.
