Treasure Island Writer to Pen Sherlock Holmes 3

Iron Man has kept Robert Downey, Jr. pretty busy, but with Tony Stark’s own franchise wrapped up and his other Marvel cinematic involvement having limited influence on the major action, Downey’s schedule is as open as it will probably ever get.

Which is why it’s no surprise Warner Bros. has decided that now is the time to breathe new life into the third installment of its Sherlock Holmes franchise. Yesterday the studio announced that the script, which was slated to be penned by Iron Man 3’s Drew Pearce back in 2011, would be getting a re-write. The scribe? James Coyne, the screenwriter behind last year’s Black List Treasure Island script, according to Deadline.

Despite the major time gap between Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and the upcoming film, the first two films proved to be big enough box office hits that another installment wouldn’t be much of a risk. 2009’s Sherlock grossed $524 million, while Game of Shadows raked in $545 million.

Couple that with the re-write, as well as Downey’s star power and the return of big-name talents like Jude Law and Guy Ritchie, and Warner Bros. should have enough to woo fans of the modern Holmes saga back to the theaters.