What else does the world need right now, other than not one, but two spinoff shows from a decade-old franchise? It seems to be the trend at the moment. This time, it’s Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes that is getting the TV show treatment.
Sherlock Holmes hit theaters in 2009, just a year after Downey Jr. starred in the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Downey Jr. played the titular character, while Holmes’ sidekick Watson was portrayed by Jude Law. The second film was released in 2011, and a third was set for 2021, though that has obviously been delayed.
According to Variety, HBO Max and the Downey family are currently developing two series for the network which will focus on new characters that are set to be introduced in Sherlock Holmes 3. A series has been in the works ever since the massive success of Downey Jr.’s Marvel movies, which allegedly taught him about the expansive idea of “world-building.” In 2020, the Downey family expressed interest in the idea of a whole Sherlock Holmes universe, which is definitely helped by the fact that there is a massive amount of source material from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
“We think there’s an opportunity to build it out more,” Susan Downey said in 2020. “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.”
It should be noted that these characters are unrelated to the Enola Holmes Netflix franchise, though seeing Millie Bobby Brown and Robert Downey Jr. trying to out-wit each other would be quite entertaining. Also not to be confused with Will Ferrell’s 2018 forgotten film, Holmes And Watson.