Robert Downey Jr. on Board ‘Sherlock Holmes’ Sequel

After years of trying, Guy Ritchie went mainstream with “Sherlock Holmes,” released on December 25, 2009, and still atop the international box office, right behind James Cameron’s “Avatar.” Even before the movie proved to be such a hit, rumors had it that it would also get a sequel, follow-up that is now almost confirmed by main star Robert Downey Jr. dropping out of another project to clear his schedule, as The Hollywood Insider informs.

Fans know that, as of this moment, Downey is perhaps one of the most bankable male stars in Hollywood, perhaps even ahead of the likes of Brad Pitt. He has not only made a very impressive comeback to the industry that shunned him for long: he is literally riding the wave, being courted by all the major movie studios for several projects. One of them was “Cowboys & Aliens,” to which Downey had already said yes and of which he backed out just hours ago in order to have an open schedule for “Sherlock Holmes 2.”

“Robert Downey Jr. has dropped out of Cowboys & Aliens, the Dreamworks / Universal sci-fi project that would have reunited the actor with his Iron Man director Jon Favreau. The news was first reported by the Los Angeles Times but only speculated on why Downey had left the project, which pits Old West cowboys and indians against a group of aliens with superior technology. Now, a source inside the production tells EW.com that the star has a scheduling conflict with a Sherlock Holmes sequel,” THI writes.

Still, not all is set in stone about the sequel. “That film has not yet been greenlit by Warner Bros., but it is being fast-tracked based on the success of the first film. (Sherlock’s worldwide gross is fast approaching $300 million.) Warner Bros. commissioned a script by Kieran and Michele Mulroney back in September and is now locking down the cast for a June start date, exactly the time when Cowboys & Aliens is set to begin principal photography. Producers behind Cowboys & Aliens are sticking with original plans and are now looking for a new lead to play cowboy Zeke Jackson, the hero of the 2006 graphic novel from Platinum Studios,” the same e-zine goes on to say.

Anyone with as little as minimal knowledge of how Hollywood works must have already guessed by now that “Sherlock Holmes” would be getting a sequel. The fact that critics too seem to love it only comes to bring more weight to the pro argument. Details on it are scarce right now, but rest assured you’ll find out more about “Sherlock Holmes 2” right here.