«Sherlock Holmes 3» will be directed by Rocketman’s Dexter Fletcher
The new «Sherlock Holmes» film is almost in the making. What we knew so far was that Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are returning as Holmes and Watson. Now we also know who’s going to direct the movie: Dexter Fletcher, Hollywood's most talented stand-in man.
Unbelievable but true: «Sherlock Holmes» is returning to the cinema screens for a third time. When? On 22 December 2021, ten years after the second part, «Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows». Robert Downey Jr. is returning to star as Sherlock and Jude Law is again taking on the role as his loyal partner, Dr. Watson.
As entertainment industry magazine Variety has now reported, a suitable director has been found: Rocketman’s Dexter Fletcher. Fletcher is taking over the franchise from Guy Ritchie who directed the first two Holmes films and helped Sherlock Holmes make the final breakthrough in Hollywood.
Source: David Fisher/Shutterstock
«Sherlock Holmes 3»: Why so late?
The first two Sherlock Holmes films brought in 524 million dollars and 545,4 million dollars worldwide. That's a total of over a billion dollars. Releasing a third part was a no-brainer for movie studio Warner Bros. But why so late?
Downey's and Law's busy schedules are the reason for this delay: Robert Downey Jr. has appeared several times in recent years as Tony Stark aka Iron Man in Marvel's Cinematic Universe.
Source: Marvel/Disney
In addition to the two main actors, Village Roadshow Pictures will also be returning as co-producer together with top Hollywood producer Joel Silver. The latter co-produced the «Matrix» and «Die Hard» series, among others. The script will be written by Chris Brancato, who co-wrote Netflix's hit series «Narcos» and NBC's «Hannibal».
Dexter Fletcher: the movie is in good hands
Dexter Fletcher's last film is the critically acclaimed Elton-John biopic «Rocketman». However, he originally came to fame as an actor in «Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels» – directed by nobody else than Guy Ritchie, who he’s taking over the Sherlock franchise from.
Fletcher first attracted attention as a director in 2011 with «Wild Bill» and two years later with «Sunshine on Leith». In 2016, Fletcher's first studio film appeared: «Eddie the Eagle», a feel-good story about the British amateur ski jumper Eddie Edwards who took part in the 1988 Olympics in Calgary and won the hearts of sports fans around the world.
Although the film with Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman in the leading roles got good reviews, it wasn’t a box-office success. But it helped Fletcher win an important sponsor: director and producer Matthew Vaughn. «This is crazy. People in Hollywood look at box office rather than talent,» the American said about Fletcher when, after «Eddie the Eagle», he hardly got any job offers.
Fletcher got his chance. When Vaughn was supposed to take over the directing role from Bryan Singer on set of the Queen biopic «Bohemian Rhapsody» three weeks before shooting ended, he rejected and suggested Fletcher to step in. Fletcher accepted the offer. Two years and a worldwide income of 903.6 million dollars later, «Bohemian Rhapsody» is the most successful music biopic of all time.
Source: 20th Century Fox
«I want them to be like 'OK, we need to put together a movie. Who can we trust with that money? Well, he fucking got us there and delivered'», Fletcher recently told the Hollywood reporter.
Sounds like the third part of the series is in good hands. After all, lead actor Robert Downey Jr. himself stated they wanted Sherlock Holmes 3 to be the best of the series.
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I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»