Following the Iron Man actor’s “retirement” from the Marvel Cinematic Universe after his character’s death in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, Robert Downey Jr. is reportedly seeking to kickstart one of his “forgotten” movie universes, the Sherlock Holmes series. As reported by Variety, RDJ is going to produce two spin-offs based on original characters that will play a huge role in the next film in the series, Sherlock Holmes 3. Unfortunately, Variety could not confirm who will star in the upcoming series, but it did add that RDJ has shown interest in developing the two spin-offs for the past two years. One of RDJ’s first big films whilst trying to redeem his reputation was the beloved pair of Warner Bros.’s Sherlock Holmes projects. Altogether, both have grossed over $1 billion at the global box office. More importantly, both the original film from 2009 and 2011 were huge hits among audiences, highlighted by the excellent casting choices as well as Downey Jr’s chemistry with his co-star, Jude Law, who played Dr. Watson. RDJ’s commitments with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, among others, prevented the 57-year-old actor from reprising his role for over a decade. But, now that he’s free from his MCU obligations, Downey Jr. appears to be preparing for a comeback as the influential detective. The last we heard about Sherlock Holmes 3 was in 2020 when director Dexter Flecher confirmed that the threequel is on hold temporarily. RDJ’s third outing as Sherlock Holmes is technically still in development, but with no release date in sight. However, since Variety confirmed that Sherlock Holmes 3 will introduce the lead characters for the HBO Max spin-offs, it appears that the budding franchise is now back on track. For now, fans of the eccentric detective will have to wait a while to see him return, either on the small screen or the big screen. In addition to the third film from RDJ’s film universe, BBC is also sitting on the fifth season of Sherlock, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role as the titular protagonist alongside Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson in a modern adaptation of the popular detective stories authored by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Speaking of Benedict Cumberbatch, the English actor is now one of the leads of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as he takes on forces from multiple universes in his second solo outing, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
