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Sherlock Holmes 3 Reportedly Takes Place in Old West San Francisco
A report suggests that Sherlock Holmes 3 will be set in San Francisco. Starring Robert Downey Jr. as the titular genius detective and Jude Law as his ever-faithful assistant John Watson, Guy Ritchie's 2009 take on Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous character proved to be a smash at the box office. It also attracted positive reviews upon release for its more action-based approach to the Sherlock story, even if many fans preferred the small screen modernized version starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman that debuted the following year. Naturally, a sequel followed in the form of 2011's A Game Of Shadows, and the follow-up continued the success of its predecessor.
Plans for a third Sherlock Holmes movie were confirmed to be underway as early as October 2011, but the project failed to move beyond the script-writing stage. While cast and crew always spoke positively regarding a third installment, nailing down the film's story has seemingly remained the biggest stumbling block over the past 8 years. Finally, in 2018, Warner Bros. announced a December 2020 release date for Sherlock Holmes 3, however that has now been delayed by a further year.
While progress on Sherlock Holmes 3 continues, albeit at an agonizingly slow place, firm details remain scarce. However, a new report from HN Entertainment claims that the threequel will be set in Old West-era San Francisco. The piece goes on to highlight that filming is also due to begin in January 2020.
Since this report comes via an unnamed source, the news has to be placed firmly into the rumor category for now and, given the amount of rewrites and revisions Sherlock Holmes 3 has been subject to, the American setting could perhaps have been part of an earlier draft. Assuming the news is accurate however, moving Holmes and Watson from London and Europe to the U.S. would certainly be a departure for Doyle's character, but would arguably provide a little more scope for diversity within the trilogy, and offer a new angle on a franchise that has been interpreted over and over again onscreen.
As the report also points out, Doyle had several connections to the U.S. in his day, and even named William J. Burns the "American Sherlock." As such, there would still be plenty of scope for Sherlock Holmes 3 to bear the influence of its creator, even within a Californian setting. Having said that, the move across the Atlantic may come with a risk of the film drifting too far into Western territory, which might not play well with Sherlock's usual tone.
