Robert Downey Jr. is reportedly returning to the world of Sherlock Holmes, where he is working on a pair of spinoff shows at HBO Max.
THR reports that Downey Jr. is set to executive produce two new series based on the detective stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Lionel Wigram, who produced both Downey Jr. Sherlock movies, is also on board as an executive producer. We don’t know much about the plot of either series, or how connected they will end up being. We also don’t yet know if Downey Jr. will reprise his role as Sherlock Holmes.
This isn’t the first we’ve heard of a Downey-led Sherlock cinematic universe. In late 2020, Downey Jr. revealed plans to create multiple spinoffs out of the third Sherlock Holmes film. While the film hasn’t happened yet, it seems plans for the spinoffs are still moving forward. At the time, Downey Jr. said, “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.”
Sherlock Holmes 3 was scheduled for a 2021 release date, but the last time we heard of the movie was when director Dexter Fletcher said the film was “sitting on the back burner”.
Downey has played the iconic detective in 2009’s Sherlock Holmes, as well as the 2011 sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. We called the original “good”, saying, “Ritchie’s new school take on an old school icon is respectful without being overly reverential, loud and fun without becoming dumb and hollow, talky but never slow.”
For more, check out what’s new on HBO Max in April. Or read up on Downey Jr.’s other upcoming project at Amazon.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
