The game is afoot (sorry not sorry) for Sherlock Holmes 3.

Rocketman and Bohemian Rhapsody director Dexter Fletcher is set to helm the long-gestating sequel, Variety reports. Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law will reprise their starring roles as Holmes and Watson, respectively.

Fletcher takes over from Guy Ritchie, who directed the first two installments of the Warner Bros. franchise: 2009’s Sherlock Holmes and 2011’s Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. The third film is slated to come out ten years after the second installment, even though Game of Shadows was a box office hit with $545.4 million worldwide. So why the long wait? Blame Tony Stark’s avenging.

Warner Bros. says that, while they always planned on making a threequel, those plans were delayed in part due to RDJ’s busy Marvel schedule. Now that his dance card has freed up, the actor now has room for the third film, with a script by Chris Brancato.

No word as to why Ritchie is leaving the series.

Sherlock Holmes 3 opens everywhere on December 21, 2021.

  • News
  • VIDEOS