Sherlock Holmes 3 Director Reveals What's Holding the Movie Up

Days after Robert and Susan Downey expressed interest in creating a Sherlock Holmes Cinematic Universe, Sherlock Holmes 3 director Dexter Fletcher says the movie's been put on the back burner. Fletcher, the filmmaker behind Rocketman, recently appeared on Celebrity Catch Up, where he revealed he and the studio are waiting to see what happens in Hollywood post-coronavirus before they start work on the film in earnest.

"Sherlock's hit its own issues on and off. That's sort of sitting on the back burner at the moment until it becomes clear where the world is at and what's going to happen," Fletcher said. The movie is currently set for release next December and has yet to begin principal photography.

Earlier this month, the Downeys appeared as keynote speakers at Fast Company's Innovation Festival, and it's there the producers revealed they think there are many more stories to be told in this film franchise.

"At this point, we really feel that there is not a mystery-verse built out anywhere, and Conan Doyle is the definitive voice in that arena, I think, to this day," he said about the future of the franchise past Sherlock Holmes 3. "So to me, why do a third movie if you're not going to be able to spin off into some real gems of diversity and other times and elements?"

That's when Susan added they both think there's certainly the opportunity for spin-offs and for building out the cinematic universe further, way past a third installment.

"We think there's an opportunity to build it out more," Susan added. "Spin-off characters from a third movie, to see what's going on in the television landscape, to see what Warner Media is starting to build out, things with HBO and HBO Max."

"I do think that the decade of tutelage and observation, what we were both able to have with Marvel, watching them build out and see all the opportunities, was invaluable. It was like a master class," she concluded. "And they really did know what they were doing and they had this tight-knit group of people from [the] jump locked into a vision that enables them to broaden" the comics into 23 hit movies (so far).

Sherlock Holmes 3 is currently set for release on December 22, 2021.