Sherlock Holmes producer Susan Downey shares major plot details for third movie

The third Sherlock Holmes movie will take place in the US.

The mystery action series has so far been set in the UK and Europe, though producer Susan Downey - who is the wife of Sherlock Holmes actor Robert Downey Jr. - has now revealed the team have been thinking about taking the upcoming third movie in a “slightly different direction” by moving the story Stateside.

Speaking with Collider, the 51-year-old producer said: “We've been talking about a slightly different direction.

“It's always been kind of set in America, and whether that's a good idea or not, I'm not sure, but I love it.

“I love that idea. So, I would just love to do it. It's just hard. It's been a while, the bar is really high, or at least Robert has set the bar really high, so I don't know.”

Sherlock Holmes follows the iconic detective (Downey Jr.) as he and his loyal partner Dr. Watson (Jude Law) race to stop a cunning villain who fakes his death and threatens all of London.

As danger mounts, the duo must unravel a dark conspiracy tied to mysticism and power.

Official updates on the third Sherlock Holmes movie have been few and far between since the release of the second film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows in 2011, and Downey has explained that progress on the project had been slowed down by Law’s busy schedule and the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said: “We came pretty close at one point, and I think I am grateful that we didn't make that version of it. I won't go into what that was, which isn't meant to sound cryptic.

“It just didn't work out timing-wise, because we couldn't get it in before Jude was going to be unavailable. I think it was a good thing that we all stepped back.

“And then there was a big old pandemic and all that kind of stuff.”

Even so, the producer insisted she would “love” to make a third Sherlock Holmes movie, and the team have been “playing with” ideas for the film “for a long time”.

She concluded: “I would love to bring a third Sherlock to the world. I really would. And we've been playing with it for a long time.”

In November, Law, 52, stressed another Sherlock Holmes movie was still in the works.

He told The Playlist: “There’s a great will to make it. And a great will amongst us all to get it right to do it, to find the time, to find the right team.

“The one great thing I took from both of those films is my friendship with Robert and his wife Susan, they mean an awful lot to me. The hope is we’re still going to do it.

“I think there’s a new iteration of the script I haven’t yet read. And then there’s a case of, ‘How expensive is it? And can we get it made?’”

Previously, rumors suggested the third Sherlock Holmes film would use time travel in its plot, but The Holiday star revealed the storyline has since been scrapped.

Speaking about the time travel plot, Law said: “Gosh, yeah, that’s interesting. The plan has been evolving over how many years it’s been now, probably nearly 10 years.”