Robert Downey Jr.’s return to the Sherlock Holmes franchise has long been expected, but it now appears that he’s lost his successful series. One of the biggest roles Downey got after Iron Man helped revive his career was as the iconic British detective Sherlock Holmes in a new movie franchise spearheaded by Guy Ritchie for Warner Bros. His debut came in 2009, and he returned for the sequel in 2011. The two Sherlock Holmes movies were generally well-received by critics and became major box office hits, helping the franchise cross the $1 billion milestone in a short time.

The overall success of the Sherlock Holmes franchise brought every expectation that Robert Downey Jr. would return as the brilliant detective for a third installment. Development was officially announced to be underway in 2011, and Downey, Ritchie, and others all remained optimistic that Sherlock Holmes 3 would happen. This was thought to only become a bigger priority for Robert Downey Jr. after his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Iron Man came to an end with 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Now it appears Downey has lost the Sherlock Holmes franchise.

Sherlock Holmes 3 Looks Less Likely After New TV Show Announcement

Ritchie Is Developing A Sherlock Holmes Prequel Show

The likelihood of Sherlock Holmes 3 happening suddenly decreased upon the announcement that Guy Ritchie is developing a new Sherlock Holmes TV show. The series will follow a younger version of Sherlock Holmes played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin. Guy Ritchie is set to direct all eight episodes of Young Sherlock for Prime Video. The project was not announced with any connection to Robert Downey Jr.’s movie franchise, as it appears to be a completely new take on the fictional character and Andy Lane’s book of the same name.

With Guy Ritchie pivoting his focus as far as Sherlock Holmes is concerned to Young Sherlock, there becomes a lesser chance that Sherlock Holmes 3 is made. It was previously announced in 2019 that Ritchie would not direct Sherlock Holmes 3, but the film’s struggle to get made left hope that he could return. The development of Young Sherlock indicates that Ritchie is absolutely not involved with the movie franchise. That could be a sign that Downey’s version of the character is done, as Young Sherlock becomes the latest Sherlock Holmes project to move forward separate from the franchise.

Why Sherlock Holmes 3 Never Happened

Robert Downey Jr. Is A Busy Man

If Robert Downey Jr.’s days of playing Sherlock Holmes are over, he is one of the biggest reasons why Sherlock Holmes 3 never happened. He managed to make the first two installments between juggling his return as Iron Man in Iron Man 2 and The Avengers. However, once The Avengers became a $1.5 billion hit and launched the MCU into a new success tier, Downey suddenly became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. He doubled down on that success by almost exclusively appearing in MCU movies from 2013-2019, as he had six appearances in seven years.

Development on Sherlock Holmes 3 continued throughout this period, but it never made substantial progress as Downey remained tied up as Iron Man. The script was constantly rewritten, and potential plans for filming to begin were repeatedly delayed. Warner Bros. even went as far as announcing a December 2020 release date, hoping that Sherlock Holmes 3 would be one of Downey’s first major post-MCU projects. Under Dexter Fletcher’s guidance, the film did begin casting new actors and prepping for a 2020 shoot, but those plans were derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With so much trouble for Sherlock Holmes 3, the franchise’s focus shifted in 2020 with the announcement of plans for Robert Downey Jr. and his wife/producing partner Susan Downey to develop a Sherlock Holmes Cinematic Universe. Two shows were put into development for Max in 2022. However, it has now been 13 years since the last installment of this Sherlock Holmes franchise. Multiple other iterations of the character have happened since then, making Downey’s version feel more like a distant memory than part of an active franchise.

Robert Downey Jr. Is Better Off Without Sherlock Holmes Now

He’s Moved Away From Franchises

The time that has passed since Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows has allowed Robert Downey Jr. to move into a different point of his career, where he is now arguably better off with the franchise’s return. His most recent attempt to launch a new franchise based on a recognizable fictional character, Dolittle​​​​​​, was a critical disaster and lost money at the box office. This brought the former MCU star to shift his focus away from franchises. The results of this move speak for themselves.

Robert Downey Jr. won his first Oscar for Oppenheimer after looking for more dramatic roles that were not connected to IP. His performance on The Sympathizer is also one of his best. Downey has consciously moved away from franchises like Sherlock Holmes and has found incredible success in a short amount of time. Sherlock Holmes 3 is a risky bet with so much time passing between the sequels. Robert Downey Jr. returning to Sherlock Holmes would feel like a step backward at this point, which could help Young Sherlock breathe fresh life into the character without Downey’s return looming.