Life is short and sometimes it flies. To wit: It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost eight years since Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, Robert Downey Jr.’s second go as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic private dic. Well, by the time the long-promised threequel comes out, a whole decade will have gone by: As per The Hollywood Reporter, the third film has been pushed back a year, to 2021.
It’s not as though Downey is that busy. Indeed, since Game of Shadows came out in 2011, the Oscar-nominated thespian has played exactly two characters who weren’t Tony Stark/Iron Man: Hanker Palmer in The Judge and a small role in Jon Favreau’s Chef, both from 2014. Yes, Downey has played Stark/Iron six times since — seven if you count the forthcoming Avengers: Endgame. But a lot of those times have been instances when he’s been part of the group; in that time he’s made a mere one solo entry, though he did take center stage in Captain America: Civil War.
Of course, the exciting news is that Downey did find another character to play: Doctor Dolittle, in the reboot The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle, which will be close to the 19th century-set Hugh Lofting books and little like the modernized diptych that starred Eddie Murphy. That may be the reason for Sherlock Holmes 3’s delay: too much Downey. Then again, there should be no such thing.
Or perhaps the production still needs some fine-tuning, especially considering there’s no known story, supporting cast or director. (Guy Ritchie, who helmed the first two, is plenty busy fine-tuning his Aladdin reboot, and maybe then he should prioritize that Man From U.N.C.L.E. sequel already.) Another possible excuse: The Sherlock brand may have been tarnished for a bit by the one that was just named Worst Picture of 2018.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
