Sherlock Holmes 3 Gets A Writers Room

The third Sherlock Holmes film seems to finally be coming into view, and the studio is putting together a writing room brain-trust to get things moving.

According to Variety, sources have said that Warner Bros., Village Roadshow, and star Robert Downey Jr. have assembled a talented group of writers to start shaping up the script for production. That team includes Nicole Perlman (Guardians of the Galaxy), Gary Whitta (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Justin Malen (Baywatch), Geneva Dworet-Robertson (Tomb Raider), and Kieran Fitzgerald (Snowden), an accomplished group to say the least.

A film is typically rewritten or fleshed out by one writer at a time, but some studios have started to assemble teams to work on it at the same time, especially when multiple movies are involved. It also makes sense from a time perspective, as the studio is trying to fit the production into a small window. Downey Jr. has to resume his Marvel Studios work on Avengers: Infinity War in February, and currently him, co-star Jude Law, and director Guy Ritchie are all available, so the time to get the project off the ground is now.

Ritchie directed both Sherlock Holmes and its sequel Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows and Jude Law played Watson in both films as well. It's a lucrative franchise for Warner Bros., as the original Sherlock Holmes (2009) brought in over $524 million worldwide on a budget of $90 million. Its sequel (2011) was even more successful, bringing in over $545 million worldwide. Downey Jr.'s star power has only increased since then, and with the success of the BBC's Sherlock, the character's popularity has never been better.

Producer Joel Silver confirmed it was a priority for the studio and Downey Jr. in a recent interview.

"It looks like it could happen this fall. Downey said he wants to do it. He's gotta launch into another Avengers movie, right after the New Year, so we're trying to get it done. We have a script that we like. Jude [Law] is available and Downey is available, and we're hoping we can get it done. If it works, great. If not, we'll do it another time. But, it looks like it could happen now."

There is currently no release date or production start date for the project.