Warner really, really wants to get a sequel to Sherlock Homes in the can as soon as possible and is moving heaven and earth to ensure they can start filming this summer. A couple of weeks ago Robert Downey Jr. had to step down from starring in Cowboys & Aliens, a comic property he'd been instrumental in shepherding through pre-production, because Warner needed him for Holmes 2.
Now comes news, via the LA Times, that Guy Ritchie is setting aside his planned Lobo movie, about DC Comics' violent anti-hero bounty hunter, in order to help fast-track a Sherlock sequel. Holmes has already pulled in $389 million around the world and is still to be released in several major markets, so you can see why Warner wants a follow-up. It also helps on the Ritchie front that Joel Silver is the producer of both Holmes and Lobo, and so it's unlikely he'll be too upset.
Silver said of Ritchie's directing Lobo, "I don't think he's going to do it now. The studio wants us and Guy to focus on making another Sherlock Holmes. So I think we're going to be doing that. But we're seeing what happens with this. Everybody is analysing everything. It's all kind of happening right now as we talk. Sherlock is sitting at just about $400 million in worldwide gross and showing itself to be pretty effective and pretty strong. So we're trying to see if we can do something quickly with another Sherlock Holmes movie. We have some ideas and some good story points."
Silver seems convinced he's gonna need another director for Lobo. However it does seem they're really rushing things with the follow-up to Holmes, and if they're only at the stage of having a few story points and it's supposedly shooting this summer, it difficult not to wonder whether we're gonna get a sub-par sequel just so they can get it into cinemas as soon as possible.