Guy Ritchie Won't Stop Until Sherlock Holmes 3 Happens

If you thought a third Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes movie was just an urban legend by now, you’re not alone. The last time Robert Downey Jr. put on Holmes’ hat and traded barbs with Jude Law’s Watson feels like ancient history at this point—mainly because their last adventure, A Game of Shadows, hit theaters all the way back in 2011. The series ended on a big cliffhanger—Holmes, presumed dead, is actually alive—but the only real mystery has been when (or if) we’d ever see these two back in action.

Flash forward to 2024, and—somehow—there’s still a pulse. While making the rounds for his latest film, In The Grey, Guy Ritchie sat down with Collider and finally addressed the question that’s been hanging over every Sherlock Holmes fan’s head for over a decade: are we seriously going to get a third movie?

So, What’s the Hold Up?

Ritchie says he’s on board, Downey is clearly down (he’s been itching for it for years), and apparently everyone wants to make it happen—so why hasn’t it happened?

Here’s how Ritchie puts it (and this feels like one of those honest Hollywood answers you rarely get):

'I'd love to. I adore Downey, and I adored making those two movies. Look, I think it's just honestly a question of aligning our schedules. I know the appetite for it's there, but the appetite for it from our side is there, too. So, we'd love to make that happen. I just don't know how it's going to happen. It's amazing that it hasn't happened.'

So yeah, apparently it’s the usual scheduling nightmare. It’s also sort of wild this still isn’t locked and loaded, considering the first two films hauled in over $1 billion at the box office. Both were hits with critics and fans and—let’s face it—Sherlock and Watson were just hitting their stride at the end of A Game of Shadows.

What’s Everyone Up To?

Let’s break down why everyone’s calendar looks like a war zone:

• Jude Law: Currently deep into filming Wild Things for Apple TV, so don’t expect him to pop his head up for months (if not longer).
• Robert Downey Jr.: Fresh off his Oscar win for Oppenheimer, he's right back in blockbuster territory. He’s about to suit up (not as Iron Man, but as Doctor Doom) for Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday, joining forces with the Russo brothers again. That shoots into Avengers: Secret Wars, reportedly starting filming in June, with both movies pretty much guaranteed to be all-consuming mega-productions through at least 2027.
• Guy Ritchie: Still churning out films, but clearly itching to get the gang back together. He's just waiting for the window to open.

So if you’re holding your breath for Sherlock Holmes 3, you might want to exhale—unless you’re one of those people who can go oxygen-free until at least late 2027. The appetite is there on all sides, but until these three busy people can find the same free month on a calendar, that’s all it is: appetite.

Is it weird that the highest-grossing Sherlock Holmes movies ever—starring one of the biggest box office draws and helmed by a director who wants to do it—are stuck in scheduling purgatory? Absolutely. But that’s where we are: stuck at a cliffhanger, waiting for an opening in Hollywood’s busiest group chat.