'Sherlock Holmes 3' release date: Plot already in place; Sequel touted to be better than previous films

Jude Law and Robert Downey Jr. will reprise their roles in the upcoming "Sherlock Holmes 3" movie.Facebook/SherlockHolmesMovie

"Sherlock Holmes 3" is set to be filmed later this year, which means that a story for it has been locked and loaded. Last year, producer Lionel Wigram underlined the importance of finding the right tale to tell in the film.

During an interview with the Mirror UK way before "Sherlock Holmes 3" was scheduled for filming, Wigram said that there's one prerequisite in revisiting the world of the greatest detective.

"For us, if we're going to do a third Sherlock Holmes, it has to be fantastic," Wigram explained.

"So we have to be really confident that we can give the audience a story that makes them say, 'Wow, this was worth it, this was better than the last two,'" he went on to say.

This is also the case for the actors. Robert Downey Jr., who plays the titular role, told Shortlist that when they are making these "Sherlock" films, "it is off the hook," adding that it's a "big deal" to make the films.

Now, it looks like "Sherlock Holmes 3" is ready for production. Downey told the said publication that filming will likely commence later this year.

The "Captain America: Civil War" actor has been meeting with director Guy Ritchie as well to talk about the film. Producer Joel Sliver also thinks this is the year "Sherlock Holmes 3" production will take place.

"It looks like it could happen this fall. Downey said he wants to do it. He's gotta launch into another Avengers movie, right after the New Year, so we're trying to get it done. We have a script that we like," he told Collider.

"Sherlock Holmes 3" was long planned to immediately follow "Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows," which came out in 2011. However, conflicts in schedule prevented them from doing so.

It is rumored that Rachel McAdams might reprise her role as Irene Adler in "Sherlock Holmes 3" although it remains to be seen how that could happen since her character was killed off in the second film.