The BBC’s Sherlock has already covered some of the greatest and most significant Sherlock Holmes books and stories after four seasons and a special. The contemporary Sherlock television series debuted in 2010 and ran for four seasons, with each season having three ninety-minute episodes in addition to a holiday special. The Sherlock series had a fantastic run, from John and Sherlock’s first case together to the “final problem,” and it doesn’t need to come back. In contrast, Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes was only the subject of two films. Thus, it may be argued that Sherlock Holmes 3 has greater promise than Sherlock season 5.

Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes told an original story, whereas Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows incorporated Professor Moriarty and was loosely based on The Final Problem. Whereas a TV show like BBC’s Sherlock or CBS’s Elementary can cover multiple stories and cases per season, the theatrical Sherlock Holmes movies can only tackle so many storylines at once. There would be dozens of Sherlock books available for Sherlock Holmes 3 to be based on, even if the sequel was not a direct adaptation of any of them. There is a lot of room to expand Downey Jr.’s Sherlock franchise.