Finally, there’s a glimmer of hope for Sherlock Holmes 3. A faint glimmer, but a glimmer nonetheless.
In a new interview, Chris Brancato, who is listed as a screenwriter for the long-delayed sequel on IMDb, revealed he has finished writing a draft script for the film. And apparently it’s “very good,” according to his Westies co-creator Michael Panes.
“I wrote a draft,” Brancato responded when asked by The Direct if a completed script exists for the movie.
“And it’s very good,” Panes offered.
Still, Brancato is being cautious — as should fans be.
When asked if the movie is truly ever “going to happen,” Brancato admitted he doesn’t know for sure.
“…That’s up to the movie gods. Also, Robert’s schedule. Robert has a very, very busy schedule, so I’m hopeful that it will get made. But you know, we have to wait and see how things shake out. You just never know with movies,” he shared.
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Robert, of course, is Robert Downey Jr., who plays the iconic British detective in the mystery series created by Sir Authur Conan Doyle in the late 1800s.
Downey Jr., who first appeared as the titular gumshoe in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes in 2009 and returned for its 2011 sequel A Game of Shadows, has been incredibly busy in recent years, particularly with his role as Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe throughout the 2010s.
Now, Downey Jr. has a new role in the MCU — he plays Dr. Doom in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday — which means his shooting schedule is likely to get.
It’s been a long and winding (and, clearly ongoing) road to get Sherlock Holmes 3 to the big screen.
The third entry was first announced by Warner Bros. in the spring of 2018, with a planned Christmas 2020 release. Of course, that never happened. In 2019, the studio announced the film would be pushed back to December 2021, but that also never came to pass.
Then, in 2024, director Dexter Fletcher, who Variety reported had been tapped to direct, shared that the COVID-19 pandemic had tossed a monkey wrench into the film’s development.
A more recent, though vague, update came from Downey Jr. himself in May 2026.
Speaking to the Associated Press on the red carpet, the Marvel icon admitted he didn’t know if or when Sherlock Holmes 3 would move forward, admitting it would be up to his wife, producer Susan Downey.
“I don’t know. People are talking about it. She’s the producer and will have the last word,” he shared, to which his wife quipped, “It’s the greatest mystery.”
A mystery indeed — and hopefully one solved soon enough for patient fans of the franchise.
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