It looks like a Peaky Blinders star could be joining the long-gestating Sherlock Holmes 3. After being in various stages of pre-production for years, the modern retelling of the classic detective character finally seems to be moving forward. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are currently in negotiations to return to the roles of the brilliant detective Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson respectively.
But while the main villain of the film appears to be the mysterious (and still uncast) Senator Cornelius Guest, a Peaky Blinders star will be factoring in, taking on a solid role as a classic antagonist from the original Sherlock Holmes novels. The Illuminerdi has discovered the news that Paul Anderson is currently in talks to appear in Sherlock Holmes 3 as Sebastian Moran.
From Peaky Blinders To The Big Screen
Anderson has been one of the major stars of Peaky Blinders for the entire six-season run of the series. He stars as Arthur Shelby, the eldest of the criminal Shelby brothers, who are all making their way to exert dominance in 1919 England. The “bulldog” of the group, the short-tempered brawler is one of the core characters of the show. Anderson has acquainted himself well with the kind of time-period both Sherlock Holmes and Peaky Blinders shares, so it makes sense to bring him into the film franchise.
RELATED: WATCHMEN’S YAHYA ABDUL MATEEN II TO PLAY MORPHEUS IN MATRIX 4: EXCLUSIVE
Anderson is the first actor to officially become attached to the upcoming Sherlock Holmes film. He would be playing Sebastian Moran. Moran first appeared in Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventure of the Empty House”, and would later show up in “The Adventure of the Illustrious Client” and “The Final Problem”. Moran is a ruthless ally to Moriarty, who as the villain in the previous Sherlock Holmes film, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. A former soldier and stone-cold killer, Moran was essentially Moriarty’s equivalent to Watson.
The breakdowns from the film suggest that Moran will be a minor villain in the narrative, which seems to focus on Sherlock and Watson making their way to the United States to deal with a scheme to take control of the gold supply within the nation. A former hitman of Moriarty’s, the production notes also reveal that Moran has decided to get revenge for the loss of his former employer by targeting Watson. He’ll even have his own group of henchmen who will try to help avenge Moriarty’s death at Sherlock’s hands in the previous movie.
Sherlock Holmes 3 is set to be directed by Dexter Fletcher (Rocketman), almost a decade after A Game of Shadows premiered in 2011. The film will feature a script by Chris Brancato (Narcos).
RELATED: DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS TEASES SURPRISE CHARACTERS
Robert Downey Jr. is currently set to lead Doolittle, which comes out later this month. The film features a staggering number of other stars as the various animals he communicates with, including Selena Gomez, Tom Holland, Emma Thompson, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Sheen, Antonio Banderas, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, John Cena, Rami Malek, Craig Robinson, Marion Cotillard, Frances de la Tour, and Carmen Ejogo. Directed and written by Stephen Gaghan (Gold), the family-adventure has an uphill battle even before it’s released.
The film ultimately cost the studio $175 million, meaning it’ll have to be a major smash even to just earn back the production and marketing costs. As pointed out by Forbes, Doolittle will need to become the most successful talking-animal comedy ever if it even wants to break even. Having a proven franchise film like Sherlock Holmes 3 in his back pocket might give a post-MCU Downey Jr. a bit more confidence going forward.
Doolittle is scheduled to premiere on January 17th. Sherlock Holmes 3 is set to begin production sometime in 2020.
