Robert Downey Jr.’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ is getting a pair of TV series at HBO Max - report
Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes film universe is reportedly getting two new spin-off shows at HBO Max.
Citing sources, Variety reported that two new TV series set in the film universe of 2009’s Sherlock Holmes and the 2011 sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows are now in the works.
Sources said that the two shows, which are currently in early development, would “each focus on a new character that would be introduced in Sherlock Holmes 3.”
Downey Jr. and Susan Downey are reportedly attached to executive produce the shows along with Amanda Burrell of Team Downey. Lionel Wigram of Wigram productions will also executive produce, while Warner Bros. Television is producing.
Variety pointed out that the third film installment in the Sherlock film franchise was supposed to be released in 2020 before it was pushed back to Dec. 22, 2021.
“With that date now come and gone, the third film does not have a release date and is not currently in production,” it said.
Representatives from HBO Max and Warner Bros. reportedly declined to comment.
There are no other details about the upcoming projects as of this writing including storyline and potential release date. It’s also unclear if Downey Jr. will reprise his role as the titular Sherlock Holmes.
Prior to this report, Downey Jr. first revealed details about the third Sherlock Holmes film during the Fast Company Innovation Festival in 2020.
"At this point, we really feel that there is not a mystery-verse built out anywhere, and Conan Doyle is the definitive voice in that arena, I think, to this day," Downey Jr. said when he discussed about future installments in the Sherlock Holmes film franchise. "So to me, why do a third movie if you're not going to be able to spin off into some real gems of diversity and other times and elements?"
"We think there's an opportunity to build it out more," Susan said about potential projects based on the film franchise. "Spin-off characters from a third movie, to see what's going on in the television landscape, to see what Warner Media is starting to build out, things with HBO and HBO Max."
Based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the first film, which starred Downey Jr. and Jude Law as the master detective and Dr. John Watson, respectively, grossed more than $524 million worldwide while the sequel amassed over $543 million in 2011.
Aside from Downey Jr.’s iteration of the master detective in the big screen, fellow Marvel Studios actor Benedict Cumberbatch also took the role of the consulting detective in BBC’s mystery crime drama Sherlock, which lasted for a total of four seasons from 2010 to 2017.