MOVIE NEWS – Sherlock Holmes 3 is moving forward with Dexter Fletcher signing on to direct. The Rocketman director is taking over for Guy Ritchie, and fans should be pretty happy to know there is finally some forward movement with the long-awaited sequel.

Guy Ritchie directed the first two instalments, starting with 2009’s Sherlock Holmes and then 2011’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. Sherlock Holmes 3 was originally set to hit theatres in December 2020, but it was revealed earlier this year that the sequel will instead come out in December 2021.

Robert Downey Jr. is returning to star in Sherlock Holmes 3 after spending the last decade in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Iron Man. The actor is now finished with the Tony Stark role after Avengers: Endgame and teased he was getting into his Sherlock role last summer. Jude Law is expected to return as Watson, but that has yet to be officially confirmed. It would be hard to see the sequel moving forward without Law, especially since he was talking about his excitement for the reunion last summer.

Jude Law went ahead and followed Robert Downey Jr. to the MCU when he jumped on board this year’s Captain Marvel. He played Yon-Rogg and could still have a part in the sequel, depending on where the storyline goes. When asked about Sherlock Holmes 3 last year, Law said the movie will “play up the fact that they haven’t seen each other for a long time,” which echoes the long wait in between the second and third instalments in real-life. It’s going to be interesting to see where these two versions of these characters are after all of this time apart.

Dexter Fletcher directed the Elton John biopic Rocketman, which is currently in theatres and has earned over $175.2 million globally since hitting theatres at the end of May. The biopic hasn’t been the box office giant the studio was hoping for, but it has been embraced by both fans and critics. Fletcher took over for Bryan Singer on 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody, which is now the highest grossing music biopic of all time. The movie catapulted Queen and singer Freddie Mercury back into the mainstream, though the band claims they haven’t seen any money from the success yet.

Chris Brancato is writing the Sherlock Holmes 3 script, which is based on the iconic characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Susan Downey, Joel Silver, and Lionel Wigram are producing the highly anticipated sequel. In terms of box office success for the franchise, the first instalment brought in $524 million, while the 2011 sequel earned $545.4 million globally. Fans have been waiting nearly ten years for the third instalment and it seems like December 21st, 2021 will be their Christmas gift after waiting so long.

Source: Variety