Before Guy Ritchie became the go-to director for stylish crime sagas and gentleman gangsters, he reinvented Sherlock Holmes as a bare-knuckle action hero. His two films starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law turned Arthur Conan Doyle's detective into a blockbuster franchise, complete with slow-motion fight sequences and one of cinema's most beloved bromances. The first film, released in 2009, was a massive hit, and its 2011 sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, only raised the stakes with more disguises, more chaos, and more of Downey and Law bickering like an old married couple solving murders. Naturally, fans have been clamoring for a third installment ever since.
In a recent interview with Collider's Steve Weintraub for his upcoming film In the Grey, Ritchie addressed the fate of Sherlock Holmes 3. When asked whether his current project, Young Sherlock, signals the end of the older franchise, Ritchie made it clear that he still wants to reunite with Downey and Law. The good news? He's eager. The bad news? After more than a decade of speculation, the biggest obstacle remains timing.
“I’d love to,” Ritchie said. “I adore Downey, and I adored making those two movies. Look, I think it’s just honestly a question of just 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.”
The original films boasted an impressive ensemble cast, including Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade, Kelly Reilly as Mary Morstan, Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood, and Jared Harris as Professor Moriarty. Given the box office success—Sherlock Holmes earned over $524 million worldwide, while A Game of Shadows climbed to roughly $543 million—it's puzzling that a third film hasn't materialized. Those numbers typically send studios sprinting toward a sequel before anyone can take off their Victorian coat.
Weintraub admitted he has repeatedly asked the key players about the project over the years, including Downey's wife and producing partner, Susan Downey, expressing his own disappointment that the film hasn't come together. Ritchie's response was simple: "Me too." It's a sentiment shared by countless fans who have been waiting for Downey and Law to reunite on screen.
Ritchie's packed schedule is likely a factor. He's currently working on In the Grey, an action thriller starring Henry Cavill, Jake Gyllenhaal, Eiza González, Rosamund Pike, and Fisher Stevens. He also has Wife and Dog, a crime drama with Benedict Cumberbatch, Pike, and Anthony Hopkins, keeping him firmly in the world of dangerous people making terrible choices. On television, Ritchie is part of the team behind Young Sherlock, a Prime Video origin story following a 19-year-old Sherlock at Oxford, with Hero Fiennes Tiffin in the lead. He's also involved in Netflix's The Gentlemen series and Paramount+'s MobLand, starring Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren, and Pierce Brosnan. Currently, he's shooting Viva La Madness, a crime thriller with Jason Statham and Jason Isaacs.
For fans of Ritchie's earlier work, the wait for Sherlock Holmes 3 continues. But as the director himself admits, the appetite is there—it's just a matter of when, not if. In the Grey hits theaters on May 15, and with Ritchie's slate as busy as ever, perhaps the stars will finally align for Holmes and Watson's next adventure.
