Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes 3, starring Robert Downey Jr., has been in development hell for years, but if it finally happens, it can fix the biggest mistake of the BBC’s Sherlock, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Sherlock Holmes and his many cases have been adapted to all types of media for many decades, and many have taken creative liberties to give the Great Detective a modern twist. Among the most popular adaptations in recent years are Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies and the BBC’s TV series Sherlock, both with very different styles.

Ritchie’s movies took the audience to 1890 to follow Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (Jude Law) as they bring down aristocratic serial killer Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong). Sherlock Holmes was followed by Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, in which the detective faced his legendary enemy, Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris), and left the audience with a cliffhanger ending. Despite the commercial success of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, a third Sherlock Holmes movie has been trapped in development for years, but if it happens, it can fix the worst mistake of the BBC’s series, which marked the show’s decline.

RDJ’s Sherlock Holmes 3 Can Make A Better Reichenbach Return

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Featured Holmes’ Fake Death

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, although it had an original premise, included elements from the stories “The Final Problem” and “The Adventure of the Empty House”, which tell the supposed death of Holmes and his return years later. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, then, followed the detective working on a new case that led him to Moriarty. At the end of the movie, and with no other option as Moriarty would kill Watson and Mary, Holmes grabbed Moriarty and dragged him over the balcony, with both falling to their deaths onto the Reichenbach Falls just as Watson showed up and saw everything.

In the final scene of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Watson got a package with a breathing device of Mycroft’s that Holmes had shared his liking for, hinting at the detective’s survival. As Watson left his office to ask Mary about the package, Holmes revealed himself, having disguised himself on the walls of Watson’s office, and read the latter’s memoirs, adding a question mark after “The End”. A third Sherlock Holmes movie would have seen the proper reunion of Holmes and Watson, and thanks to this, it could make a better Holmes return than the BBC series did.

Despite all the time that has passed since Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Sherlock Holmes 3 can still cover Holmes’ return and do it in a way that’s more loyal to the source material. Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies have the advantage of having already introduced Mary and made her part of Watson and Holmes’ story, so Sherlock Holmes 3 can fully focus on Holmes’ return, how he survived the Reichenbach fall, what he did all these years, and how he can mend his relationship with Watson.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows also introduced Sebastian Moran, Moriarty’s henchman, who has a role in “The Adventure of the Empty House”, so it would be a lot easier to have him back in the third movie as it wouldn’t have to spend time introducing him and explaining his link to Moriarty. Ritchie’s movies also had a clearer direction than the BBC’s Sherlock, so the third movie could definitely make up for the latter’s post-Reichenbach mistakes.

Why The BBC’s Sherlock Reichenbach Return Failed

Sherlock Never Recovered From The Reichenbach Fall

Sherlock season 2’s final episode, “The Reichenbach Fall”, is a modern version of “The Final Problem”. In it, Sherlock and Jim Moriarty (Andrew Scott) met on the rooftop of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, where Moriarty, as a last resort to manipulate Sherlock into killing himself, did so first. Sherlock then called Watson and jumped from the roof to his apparent death, but his survival was revealed right at the end of the episode. Sherlock returned in the first episode of season 3, “The Empty Hearse”, which is considered the beginning of the show’s decline.

“The Empty Hearse” saw Sherlock’s return and reunion with Watson, but made it unnecessarily comedic, and those supposedly funny tones didn’t really land. “The Empty Hearse” failed to answer the biggest question about Sherlock’s fake death, which is how he faked it in the first place, and instead of providing a solid and definitive answer, it made fun of fan theories (of which many were actually quite believable). This also made Sherlock too meta, which continued through the rest of seasons 3 and 4, and acknowledging fan theories and making fun of them instead of using them as inspiration felt disrespectful to the show’s loyal audience.

In addition to that, “The Empty Hearse” also introduced Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington), who felt out of place, and Moran was given a minor and forgettable role. Sherlock peaked with “The Reichenbach Fall” and couldn’t really continue after it, losing its essence in its apathetic efforts to reunite Holmes with Watson and have them team up again for a new case, and it didn’t have a clear direction post-Reichenbach Fall, leading to the show’s decline in quality.

Will RDJ’s Sherlock Holmes 3 Really Happen?

Sherlock Holmes 3 Has Been Trapped In Development Hell

As mentioned above, Sherlock Holmes 3 has been trapped in development hell for years. A first draft was announced to be in development back in 2011, with Jude Law commenting in 2013 that the project was still alive, but it was a “slow process” as they were all busy back then. The following year, producer Susan Downey confirmed that Sherlock Holmes 3 was still in development, but they had to “get it right”. Although the movie was supposed to start shooting in late 2015, it went through another rewrite, further delaying its production start to 2018.

However, in 2019, the release date of Sherlock Holmes 3 was pushed to 2021 and Ritchie was replaced by Dexter Fletcher as director. Sherlock Holmes 3 went through another delay in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the latest update from Susan Downey is that the project is still “alive in our hearts” and there needs to be a “great story” to bring Downey Jr. and Law back as Holmes and Watson.

A big advantage of Sherlock Holmes 3 is that the ending of the previous movie doesn’t leave time-sensitive loose ends and the sequel can still work even if over a decade has passed, and hopefully, Sherlock Holmes 3 will finally make it out of development hell and to the big screen to give viewers the proper, triumphant return of Holmes after his fake death.