The Director Of ROCKETMAN Will Take On SHERLOCK HOLMES 3

There's been talk of a third Sherlock Holmes movie for years, with Guy Ritchie expected to direct a concluson to his trilogy starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. But with Downey Jr. busy Stark-ing it up in the MCU, Sherlock Holmes 3 wasn't exactly a priority. Now that RDJ is available, the game is afoot once again – with a surprising development: According to Variety, Dexter Fletcher – not Guy Ritchie – has signed on to direct Sherlock Holmes 3. The Rocketman director is certainly an unexpected choice; the Sherlock films are a distinctly Guy Ritchie product, and it's hard to imagine another filmmaker successfully replicating that style. On the other hand... Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows may have been a box office hit, but it was an underwhelming follow-up to the first outing. And Fletcher isn't a stranger to replacing another filmmaker, having stepped in at the 11th hour to complete production on Bohemian Rhapsody following Bryan Singer's exit. Bohemian nightmare aside, Fletcher is a talented filmmaker whose credits also include Eddie the Eagle and Sunshine on Leith, and maybe Sherlock could use a fresh set of eyes. It's also curious that Variety's report makes no mention of Ritchie whatsoever. 

Downey Jr. and Jude Law will return to reprise their roles as Sherlock Holmes and his BFF/collaborator Watson, respectively. The most recent iteration of the screenplay is being written by Chris Brancato, whose previous credits include Netflix's Narcos, and... that's about all we know at the moment.