LOS ANGELES, March 6 — The third Sherlock Holmes film, with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, is now not expected to appear until December 2021, a year-long delay for the detective action franchise.

Sherlock Holmes 3 will be on Avatar 3’s case just one week after debut.

The detective mystery has been delayed from Dec 25, 2020 to Dec 22, 2021, Warner Bros has confirmed.

The studio is still intending to release an "event film” on Christmas Day 2020, but hasn’t yet specified what that will be.

Such terminology and timing could even suggest a third DC Extended Universe entry for the year, the studio having already scheduled Birds of Prey for February and Wonder Woman 1984 for June.

Sherlock and Dr Watson’s new 2021 date will instead arrive one week after James Cameron’s extravagantly-funded alien adventure film Avatar 3 and the same day as family animated comedy Hotel Transylvania 4, an adaptation of fantasy Broadway musical Wicked, and an untitled live-action Disney movie.

In 2020, Avatar 2 is expected to release on Dec 18, with Disney lining up another live-action mystery for Dec 23, and Sing 2 (plus WB’s mystery package) all set for Dec 25.

Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law last appeared as Holmes and Watson together in 2011’s Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows. Both are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with RDJ having played Iron Man since 2008’s film of the same name, and Law joining as the title character’s mentor in this week’s Captain Marvel.

However, fans may still have to wait until Sherlock Holmes 3 to see them together again, as Law has not been mentioned in pre-release casting announcements for April’s MCU ensemble movie Avengers: Endgame.

Both previous Sherlock Holmes movies were directed by Guy Ritchie who might return for this third instalment. — AFP-Relaxnews